Tales as old as time should've been retired years ago
by Janet-Mufasa
Summary: Destiny means everything in Ever After. Rotbart is destined to torment Duchess. Raven is meant to poison Apple. Daring is meant to marry Apple and Dexter is to be a Beast. Their tales are old as time...but thats why they should've been retired years ago, to make way for new ones to challenge the ideals of 'destiny'. A two part fanfiction. Contains Dexen, Darise, and SwanTheft
1. Chapter 1

_A lake, so gracious and still in the moonlight with hundreds of fireflies further illuminating it... _

_A warm night, a star spangled sky, bedazzling and intricately laced with mystery and awe._

_A princess, she pirouettes in silence, a serene sense of sheer and utter disembodiment from the world and its troubles is evident in her elegant and effortless posture as she continues her dance._

_Her dance is intoxicating, and melancholy as she twirls and tiptoes along the surface of the enchanted lake without a single ripple, for her grace is just as extraordinary as that. It defeats all laws of science, and hypnotises the minds of those who watch her._

_Then again, this is enchantment. This is magic of a delicate and sophisticated kind, and the spellbinding ritual of her midnight dance could lull anyone into a sense of otherworldly peace._

_And yet the underlying tragedy and despair so evident in her face, and tainting her grace and beauty can instantly drown one too absorbed in her spell. It suffocates you, pulling you under the water's motionless surface and with every step she takes the essence of your life is drained from your very being. _

_Duchess Swan, a complicated and forever cursed princess whose dance of despair has the power to engulf one into the abyss of-_

"Hey, Rot-Barf, can you turn the darn light off? I'm trying to sleep here!" Sparrow snarled exasperatedly.

Rotbart Von Schwarz slammed shut his book and his enchanted feather quill dissolved into the air as he begrudgingly gave in to his roommate's insistent nagging. For about an hour now he had been deeply engrossed in his poetry and prose, documenting every fleeting emotion which overcame his dark soul as he longingly spied the beautiful Duchess from his window.

However, his roommate found poetry and late night lamenting of cursed and unrequited love to be useless and annoying. Funny, however, as that is what Rotbart thought Sparrow was a good percentage of the time. He glared especially hard at him as he recalled the way the petty criminal to be would effortlessly laze about with her, his beloved, as though it were nothing. However, Sparrow Hood belonged to another story and so there was nothing he could do about that.

Besides, in the morning he would be facing something more important than his rival in love. Another persons story.

He slid down and sighed, the memories of what he had seen in the crystal ball came flooding back and the drowning sensation filled his heart. While Duchess was most certainly his true love, despite their destinies stating otherwise, there was another whom he had ties to.

His half sister, although none would be aware of their complicated heritage, Raven Queen had just a year ago sparked a major revolution in the fairy tale world, encouraging people to go forth and write their own stories. At first he was spiteful of her, daring to do such a thing when other villains like himself had long ago committed to accepting their doom and demises respectively.

He resented that she could follow her 'true heart' and just be free. He had already signed the book of legends and would be forever expected to curse his precious Duchess while he watched her pine for another man, and then destroy him, thus leaving her a swan forever.

Had his little sister just decided to rebel a year or so earlier...

Yes for the longest time he resented her, but it wasn't until he had seen for himself what cruel future lie ahead for her that something stirred in him.

Seeing her cast away and discarded on the streets, left to rot in chains forever made his soul feel human again. He looked at his own story and at that moment felt as though perhaps he knew exactly how Raven felt about this so called destiny.

He finally accepted the fact that he didn't WANT to curse Duchess. He didn't WANT to murder her lover, no matter how his jealous heart might try to sway him. And he didn't want to DIE...Not knowing what harm he had done to someone he cared for... And not knowing the horrific life the world was trying to force upon his sister.

He confronted Raven about her story that day and confessed he had seen it all. He told her his intentions and he begged her to let him take her place, in the hopes that then she would be truly free from the pressure to poison Apple White.

Although she initially refused to let him take her place, eventually he convinced her and they sealed their fates. Raven informed him that as it turned out the story book he signed hadn't been the real one, and so there was still time to make amendments to their destinies.

That vile headmaster seemed less than pleased that Rotbart would do such a selfless act to ensure his sister wouldn't suffer, but nonetheless accepted their explanation, albeit suspiciously. After all, the story of Snow White was in fairy tale standards a far more important tale than Swan Lake.

In the morning he would officially be what was quite likely one of the most controversial rebels in Ever After High history.

"For Duchess...for Raven..." He muttered under his breath as the water crept over his head and drowned him with sleep.

To be continued~


	2. Chapter 2

There isn't a word in the English language that covers the severity of ambivalence which hung around the school the next day. While rebels were happy to have another on their side, they were uncomfortable knowing he planned to still be evil.

While the royals were happy to have someone to complete Apple's story, they were upset that

It wasn't Raven and

Apple was going to get poisoned now

So overall, the whole institution was slowly being suffocated by the tension. Such tension hadn't been so prevalent since Legacy Day in fact, and for some it opened up a lot of old wounds.

For others, it made new ones.

"You stupid, despicable, imbecile!" Duchess kicked up a two foot wave of water with her dainty foot alone, the enchanted substance soaking like spiritual acid into Rotbart's clothing. He stood firm and refused to look away from her.

"You idiot! You horrible, terrible excuse for a villain! What are you thinking?" She shrieked, her face reddening and tears streaming down her cheeks. She splashed up more water and then when soaking him wasn't enough, she tip toed as fiercely as she could upon the surface of the lake and then slapped him across the face.

He was shocked and it hurt his ego to be treated in such a way by a female, but it hurt his heart more that she was so upset. In fact, he had come here expecting quite the reverse reaction.

His optimism was now only salt to add to the throbbing gash across his spirit.

"I thought you would be happy..." He finally muttered, stupidly.

Duchess leant back for a moment, her heart skipping a beat, but no sooner did she halt her relentless abuse than it started up again with a new and fresher spite.

"You thought WHAT? Are you kidding me? News flash, 'red beard', YOU'RE DOING EVIL WRONG!" She smacked him again and then went for another but he finally moved, grasping her hand mid air and holding it firmly.

She gasped and then attempted to free herself as her bravado dissolved instantly. He felt a pang of guilt but it only confirmed his resolution even further.

"That is because I'm not trying to be evil..." He spoke in a level tone, "not to you anyway." He corrected.

"Let me go!" She screamed, crying again. He released her wrist and she drew back, her arms clinging around her chest.

A long silence ensued and though he urged to comfort her, and hold her in his arms and kiss her tears, he didn't. If this was what heroes in fairy tales felt like, then he was glad he wasn't one traditionally. He let her cry for a while before he decided to try and speak again.

"Duchess, I don't understand you. Why aren't you happy? At the least, why aren't you relieved?"

Daring to take a step towards her he used his magic to hold himself upon the waters surface, and he closed the gap between them. Duchess had yet to look up, but then flinched in shock as he lifted her face with a gloved hand.

He looked her in the eyes and she halted, staring back.

"Without me, you can finally have what you have always wanted. It will be yours to take, won't it? To live happily ever after with someone who can care for you, and someone who won't die. I promise not to lay a finger on him, and nor you. It isn't my destiny anymore. Can't you just be happy about that?" He whispered.

She shuddered, truly disgusted and yet touched by his words, and she pushed away from him again.

"Why? Why would you want to give me that kind of a chance?" She asked, "and who's to say that this will even work? What if we disappear?" He voice raised with every point, every sentence and then she screamed again,

"WHY?"

He hushed her and then deeply breathed, "because, Duchess...I could never have done those horrible things to you."

He smiled at her daly and then sighed, "I love you. I would rather suffer in someone else's story than deny you a happy ending."

She gasped and almost fell through the water, but he caught her and stood them both back up. Her face was pale, and she felt weak in the knees. And suddenly she was enraged. The first male to ever show an interest in her, the first to declare his love, and it just HAD to be this slimy, blackened sorcerer scum who now was acting so 'noble' and 'selfless'... She wanted to hate him so badly, and it took her a whole to find a reason to again.

Then finally it hit her, "You fool! It doesn't matter what you or I do! Destiny followed, or not, I will never, ever be happy! You're only making it worse by jeopardising our whole existence!"

He sighed and rolled his eyes for once, "My swan, please don't talk like that. You sound like that insufferable Apple, going on about destiny."

Duchess sniffled, enraged to be compared to Miss High and Mighty. However she continued to listen.

"Look, there are things that this world doesn't want you to know..." Rotbart for a moment gazed off into the forest behind them, spying a silhouette cloaked in red among the leaves, dashing off into the shrubbery.

"Destiny is just a guideline, and not a law. You don't have to keep it." He said. "It's just a system our ancestors came up with centuries ago to try and control our lives."

"How do you know that?" She whispered. "Nothing has happened to us yet."

He looked back to her and then replied, "Let's just say that even before us, there were people who questioned their storybook endings. And there are people we know today...peers of ours who only exist because of risks like this. I just know, okay?"

He took her hands and for the first time she didn't struggle, although her skin rippled with chills as he touched her.

"I'm doing this for you, and I'm doing it for my sister, Raven." He said.

"Wait, what?" Duchess was taken aback for a moment, "Raven is your sister?" She asked.

He looked at her, truly unsurprised as the infernal flame that served as his so called hair suddenly felt as hot as its color on his head, "yeah, we ...share a mother..." He muttered.

"But, anyway," he cleared his throat and continued, "I just want you to be happy. But don't tell anyone about this. It's best I keep my image up, and fulfil my new role without questioning my villainy."

He let her go and then began to walk away, but not before she asked him one more thing,

"Rotbart...?"

He turned to look at her, "Won't you suffer worse as Raven's role? Are you really that evil to deserve that?"

He shook his head, "It may seem hard to believe but even the dark and sadistic can feel compassion on rare occasions. While I appreciate your concern, don't be fooled by my love for you. I was born to be a villain, and I intend to do that."

He turned away, knowing he had probably just confused and upset her more, but it was all he could do for now. He didn't know what else to do.

Duchess stood long and quietly as she watched him walk away, and the discomfort, and rage and confusion didn't dull right away.

She transformed into a swan and swam away, deeper into the woods.

From the shrubbery a pair of eyes watched in dumbfounded shock. A hand tapped his shoulder and the prince turned to the wolf beside him.

"We should probably pretend we didn't just overhear that, okay?" Cerise whispered.

Daring nodded. "Yeah..." He looked at her, and then back at Duchess. Before this all, he had always thought love was black and white. Now, more than ever, he was being amazed by the true complexity and tragedy that it involved.

He held her hand tighter, and looked away. He wondered if it would ever come down to giving her up one day...

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Excited murmurs and whispers flitted about the hallways of Ever After High, swarming like bees and stinging Raven's ears. She knew they were talking about her.

While she was glad to finally be officially off-the-book now concerning her fairy tale role as 'Evil Queen' it was just sad that even now people were questioning her motives, and expecting her to change her mind.

They'd begun to spread these silly fables that she had blackmailed Rotbart into taking her role, or that she was secretly in alliance with him to end Apples fairy tale once and for all. They'd even accused them of being secret lovers, and that Rotbart had chosen to take on her role in the hopes to spare his beloved...

"Eew.. not with my own brother, what is wrong with you people?.." Raven shuddered. While they weren't too far away from the truth with that last one, it was most certainly not a case of Rotven (RotbartxRaven, the latest hashtag spreading around the mirrornet).

However, while they shared a mother, thanks to her brother's intensely blazing red hair, its hard to believe they were even associated with each others family..

Both ends of the family ended in definite tragedy, but her brother gets a nice drowning death, rather than horrific suffering. Now, though, all that would change. An uncomfortable feeling rose up in her stomach and she had to find an empty classroom to think for a moment.

Yes, she always had wanted to be free from her predetermined story, but not at this cost. He had been so determined though, and arrogant too even.

The incident, which happened only days ago, replayed in her mind, as fresh as an apple;

XxXxXxX

"I will not accept no for an answer. I refuse to let you risk that kind of demise." He had said, a hint of irritation creeping up in his voice.

Raven clenched her fists, fighting back her powers as much as possible, and she stomped her foot, "No! You don't have to take my place, and I won't let you do it! We are the only family we have left, Rotbart, what do you think will happen after you..." She drew back a breath, tears streaming down her face.

He folded his arms and looked away, "Either way I'm destined to die, but I would rather it be in your place. I just want to be sure nothing happens to you."

Raven screamed furiously, "I don't need your help! I'm rewriting my own destiny just fine! Now stop being a demented excuse for an antihero and blacken up again!"

She shot him with her magic and he blocked it with his own spell.

"I liked it better when you were the more evil one out of the two of us!" She wept.

He knelt down to where she had slid to the ground, and he embraced her. "I know you just don't want to see me get hurt, but trust me, I know what I'm doing. And I don't doubt your rebellion, I just know unless someone steps up to take your place they will never stop pressuring you."

She hated him so much right now, but gripped him tightly, not used to feeling helpless like this and she muttered, "Why? Can't you just..." She trailed off not knowing what else to ask.

He drew back and stood straight, smiling partially down at her, "I guess I've finally joined your rebellion come to think of it, haven't I?" He joked.

She glared up at him and replied, "You're supposed to be seeking a better ending, not a worse one"

He shrugged and said, "But my ending will be happy. You get to live and be free..." And he almost added the part about Duchess, but even with his sister he was just a bit too proud to reveal it. He didn't want to become thought of as some hopeless romantic.

Raven was still unconvinced for the most part, "But you will still be gone." She said.

He laughed, half annoyed and the other half amused, "Do you doubt my skills of evasion so much?" He asked.

"I think you're forgetting that my side of the gene pool comes with stronger magic." He teased.

Raven scoffed, but didn't take the bait, not wanting to fall for his friendly banter. Nonetheless, she nodded her head.

"Fine, I suppose you do have a better mastery over disguise and concealment."

She took a while to further consider it, knowing that if he was right about his skills, he could probably evade imprisonment and death for years upon years, thus prolonging his life.

"Would you visit me? I mean...if you went into hiding after..." She asked, standing up finally.

He grinned wickedly and replied, "If I feel like it."

She sighed. "Fine. Let's go see the headmaster about this."

XxXxXxX

In the abandoned classroom she had found her way into, she laid her head down on the table and decided maybe a little nap was in order after such a tiring week. She just wanted to get this year over with...

But now, she supposed, things couldn't possibly get worse.

"Ah, Miss Queen, I've been searching for you..." A grim voice spoke suddenly.

Raven shot up and her heart sank as her eyes met with the condescending, always plotting headmasters.

"May I speak with you for a moment?" He grinned.

To be continued~


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

XxXxXxX

In the empty classroom Headmaster Grimm pulled up the teachers seat and folded his hands upon the desk, raven following suit in slight irritation.

He cleared his throat and smiled down at her with narrowed eyes, "Now, miss Queen, I do believe that you recall not long ago your brother Rotbart volunteered to take your place." He began.

"I am NOT taking it back!" Raven shouted, sitting up immediately, assuming he was going to try and force it on her again.

He chuckled and motioned his hands for her to be seated again, "Oh, no, I'm not going to try with that again my dear, I had another thing to speak with you about." He assured her.

She huffed loudly and sat down reluctantly.

Satisfied he began again, "Now that Apple White has a complete story, there will no longer be any pressure for you to fulfil the role of her antagonist. It is something I can truthfully guarantee."

"Yes, well thank you then." Raven said, anxious to get this over with as fast as possible.

"However..." He spoke up enticing a groan from the young witch. "Now that he has abandoned his own story, that leaves Duchess Swan without a complete destiny." He said.

Raven's hair stood up on end thinking of the annoying and selfish princess who only caused grief everywhere she went...always trying to ruin other people's stories and obsessed with her own pity.

It was so easy to get lost in her thoughts of major dislike in regard to the feather fiend that Raven wasn't even paying attention to what Grimm was saying at all...

"Yeah..." She muttered thoughtlessly.

"Really? You'll really do it?" The headmaster exclaimed in shock, standing up from his chair.

"Huh? WAIT, do what?" Raven sat up suddenly alert.

Grimm smiled and repeated, "I asked if you would be willing to complete her story as her villain!"

Raven gasped and stood up furiously, "NO! I will NOT!" She cried, "Why do you think I would torment her any further than she already is?"

Truly shocked, the headmaster replied, "But you've expressed your dislike for her, along with many other students so frequently, surely it shouldn't matter to you if she does!" He offered, honestly having thought that would work.

"And maybe you could even allow for her to love happily ever after... After all, you aren't the original tales villain, so either way it's rewriting destiny. Don't you think that's right?" He tried to sway her twisting the facts and making it sound like something noble to do.

Raven crossed her arms and looked him in the eye, "Absolutely not. I may dislike her, but I will not harm her, or anyone. I'm not the evil queen, and I never will be. Ever. In any way shape or form!"

He slammed his hands on the desk, enraged, "Yes you are and yes you will be! By fairy godmother, you will carry out this role whether you like it or not!"

Before Raven could retaliate, the door slammed open, and a shocked and irritated Duchess stood there, ruffled and ready to fight,

"NO SHE WILL NOT!" She shouted. Some students from outside the doorway stopped to peer in and see what the commotion was about.

The headmaster grimaced and ordered her to get out, "Now you stay out of this. Miss Swan" he demanded.

She gaped in shock at him, and put her toe down, "No! I won't stay out of it! This is my story you're butchering and trying to rewrite behind my back! I trusted you to leave me alone after Rotbart left..."

She began to tear up, hurt and uncaring about her reputation now, "I thought I might finally have the chance to be happily ever after...without the suffering...without the tragedy...without that STUPID cursed ballet..."

Raven spoke up softly, "Don't worry Duchess, you will. I'm not going to take anyone's place."

Duchess looked up at her suspiciously, always having distrusted her. She saw her in a different light now as she came up to her and held her shoulders, "Everyone, even you has the right to be loved and happy. And I'm not going to get in your way." She said, emphasising that last part and looking back to Grimm.

"And it's staying that way!"

With that she left the room and stormed off, leaving Headmaster Grimm simmering. He was sure that would have worked, but clearly it wasn't.

Duchess then straightened up, and for the first time felt real courage, and real hope for her own happiness and then said, "As for me, I am nearby ENDING the Swan Lake legacy!"

Everyone surrounding them gasped. Of all royals to change, this had been one of the biggest shocks of all.

She transformed into a swan and flew in a violent streamline toward the offending headmaster and flapped her wings at his face, before exiting out the doorway.

She would have dropped a special substance on his head too it there hadn't been an audience. She was so mad right now, but at the same time happy, and yet scared. Flying through the enchanted forest she honked and squawked, sobbing on the inside as she bee lined for a certain hideout.

XxXxXxX

Cerise ducked and growled menacingly as a random huge bird buzzed past her head, almost knocking off her hood. Daring calmed her down, afraid she might revert into huntress mode again. Last time she did that he'd caught her eating a rabbit.

He actually cried that day. But, true love wasn't meant to be easy...and that's not just a Cupid catchphrase, he realised.

"Come on Riri, let's just hurry up and get out of sight before anyone sees us." He cooed, attempting to distract her with his charm.

She huffed, and then looked at him, feigning uninterest in his broad and charming smile.

"You know that huntress mode... Is kind of a no no with me..." He nervously muttered, as she continued to eye him suspiciously.

Growling in her throat she pounced on him, the huntress taking down a different prey, and Daring felt both relieve and a little intimidated, but the way he grasped her and held her against him might say otherwise.

Lost in a kiss, they didn't even hear the clicking of a mirrorpad camera.

"I came for a shocking story, and got an even juicier one!" Blondie Locks whispered to herself, pleased with herself and also displeased with Daring.

She had followed Duchess out here to see if she would answer any questions when suddenly she happened upon Cerise and Apple's supposedly destined fiancé passionately roughousing like wild beasts.

"That's just NOT right!" She thought as she hurried away. Not one normally to resort to malicious thoughts and actions she comforted her conscience knowing that her best friend forever after deserved to know the truth.

Apple would be back from her vacation to Neverland with her parents soon and though it hurt her to ruin her friends mood with such news, it simply had to be done.


	5. Chapter 5

Sparrow Hood wasn't what you'd call a typical fairy tale hero. He and his father are viewed poorly by both sides of the struggle between good and evil, and so he sticks to his band and he stays on the sidelines rather than getting dragged into this ridiculous destiny rebellion.

However, if he absolutely had to pledge his allegiance to one side, he'd be a good rebel. While stealing from the rich and giving to the poor seemed admirable and easy to do with his natural talent and a lifetime of practice, he wasn't exactly all that interested in just doing what his old man already did and still does.

He strummed his guitar quietly, unusual for him of course, but at the moment he was deep in thought and didn't want anyone to see him like this.

He stared up at the sky and wished he'd invested in archery classes after all. Those stupid clouds looked like swans. That was the last thing he wanted to think about.

He continued strumming, his usually obscenely loud instrument instead churning out a soft and soothing melody. He had no idea what tune it was, but it sounded familiar to him somehow, and he nearly had lulled himself to sleep...

Until a very shapely and pointed foot landed a swift pirouette propelled kick to his face.

"AAH!" He jumped, striking the cords hard like he normally did, the shrill sound causing flocks of birds to scatter like confetti.

A rather peeved Duchess glared down at him, her hands on her hips. She was bent over at the waist, towering over his collapsed form, and just by her dangling hair he couldn't resist and stole a glance at the view her generously low neckline provided before returning to her eyes.

"Really, Sparrow?" She simmered, "Swan Lake?"

He stared up at her confused and tried to speak but his mouth just hung open, a dull and primitive 'Uuuuh' tumbling out.

She smirked in irritation and she swung up her ever pointed toes at him, meeting his nose threateningly, "You know how I react to that stupid cursed ballet!" She growled, pressing her toe hard onto his nose before whipping her foot back into place.

She stood up straight and crossed her arms, unimpressed with his silence.

"What about it?" He asked, "why are you telling me this?"

She screeched and clenched her fists at her side, "Are you serious? Sparrow, you were playing Swan Lake! I compulsively dance whenever I hear it, so I would know! How could you not realise you were playing an extremely complex tune on your stupid guitar?"

His eyes bulged and he felt his heart stop. Oops...

He looked at his guitar, and then at her, and then smiled sheepishly, "I...guess I was..." He thought back to that ridiculous wooing class he had tried out once before he quit because Daring was annoying...

"Thinking of you?" He tried nervously.

Duchess remained frozen in the exact same position, her face still unimpressed.

"What?" He shrugged, "I don't know! When I started learning music, they made us read all kinds of boring stuff so I guess I just coincidentally remembered that one specific tune!" He lied.

Living in a room with Rot-barf it was always playing. Initially he hated it, but now secretly, he'd listen to it when said vomit-villain wasn't in the room.

Duchess rolled her eyes and then relaxed her posture, "Just, don't do weird things like that anymore please? Ode to joy, the nutcracker, ANYTHING ELSE and I couldn't care any less... Okay?" She concluded.

Sparrow stood up quickly and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, okay.." Before dashing off before she could say anything else.

She stared in the direction he'd gone and then once he was out of sight she let the blood rush to her cheeks, her heartbeat oddly heavy. Secretly, she was flattered that the thought of her alone could cause someone of such poor musical taste to subconsciously play the classics.

And then, there was something else...why was Sparrow thinking of her? Of course, sure there isn't anything strange about thinking about people, especially if they're relatively close but...

She cleared her throat, and then danced off to the lake again, trying hard not to think about it.

Sparrow on the other side of the school was furious with himself for having gotten caught like that.

"STUPID, IDIOT!" He cursed himself, kicking around his stuff, and practically ready to flip his whole stupid four poster bed and toss it out the window.

Tucker and a few other Merry Men sat in awe as their lead guitarist carried on like a raging ogre. They weren't sure what was bugging him. Earlier in the day they'd congregated here for a band meeting, and were concerned that he was late.

No sooner did one of them go to see if he was okay, did he bust through the door, screaming and red as his hair in the face.

"WHY? WHY SWAN LAKE? WHAT KIND OF A PANSIE PRINCE CHARMING DO I THINK I AM?" He shouted.

That line earned a few snickers from the group, who all quickly silenced once they'd gained Sparrow's attention.

He probably would've done something even more childish and retaliated, but then the overpowering scent of vomit-villains' expensive cologne entered the room.

Rotbart glanced around the dilapidated room and then at all the food trash and rouge teens lounging around like it was their hideaway. He sighed and then glared at Sparrow. He'd asked for him to stop holding his bro-fests in the dorm room, but clearly and...obviously come to think of it, such diplomacy was out of the question when it came to petty criminals.

"Okay, get out all of you but Sparrow, unless you ALL want to BE sparrows... Because I know a very hungry kitty in the Beasts and Mythical Creatures enclosure..." He drawled out menacingly.

They all screamed and scattered, rushing out the door two by two.

All that remained was Sparrow.

"Had a bad day?" He asked casually, overstepping a broken stool and kicking aside some pizza crusts.

Sparrow tossed a slice of pizza at his face in response, still simmering.

Rotbart peeled it off his face and began to eat it. Sparrow hated him. It was too hard to calculate what was going on in that mind of his. He gave away no signs of any emotion when he wanted to be especially cryptic, and with him, that was all the time.

"Swan lake? I thought you got over me playing that semesters ago." He said, having heard that last screamed line.

Sparrow huffed and then stepped back, for the first time examining the mess he'd made. He decided to change the topic, "You can use your magic to fix all this crud up, right?" He grit his teeth.

Rotbart smiled softly and chuckled, "No. My magic is bad, my little bird." He replied.

Sitting down on his bed, he stared at the other redhead intensely. While spying on his precious Duchess he'd witnessed their little altercation. Suddenly in that moment he began to wonder...

What would happen now? If Ravens destiny wasn't so horrific he would have rebelled in a different manner by way of asking the swan princess to be his. Now that he couldn't do that...who would be left behind to have her at their mercy?

He finally spoke again, "If you wish to have her, you had better get your act together or I won't let it happen." He stated.

"Wh-what? How...?!" He stuttered out.

"I know love when I see it. You're quite lucky too I must say. Had this been last year I'd have erased you from the books." He explained.

Sparrow felt a violent chill erupt over his body at the way he spoke so casually about things like that. He should've roomed with that troll guy after all. This was just a bit too much sometimes.

Shortly after he'd been coerced into cleaning up the mess in the room he did however think about what he said.

"Get my act together..." He mumbled. All this time he'd been completely unconcerned with keeping the attention he'd gained from the girls here. For the longest time he had wished to fly solo for the rest of forever after, picking up a few beauties here and there but dedicating his life to his music and nothing else.

Then BOOM in flies this bitchy swan lady who had to stick her beak into everyone else's story, and for the most part he secretly loved jumping on for the ride. He didn't know when he'd started to actually get attached though...

Maybe it was always there, or maybe it began the day Duchess came flapping up to his hideout in a wreck, freaking out about her destiny. She had never been so emotional in front of him before, and when he asked her why she'd come to him of all people she had said, as though matter of fact, that he was her only friend.

Eventually he found himself standing before the enchanted lake, but by now it was empty. He sighed and sat down against a tree, his guitar in his hands. Despite himself he began to play that cursed tune. As he played suddenly he began to understand what that vomit villain had always been going on about. The sad and melancholy tune that lulled oneself into a state of despair, and drowning.

He felt like he was drowning... And then suddenly a pointed foot shot out and halted his hands as the strummed and he gasped for air, able to breathe again. He looked up at her and she looked down at him.

"I suppose you're doing that to mock me?" She guessed.

In the dimming evening light he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she really was. All that late night listening to his roommate carry on and under his breath about her, had gotten to him because now he too saw it. She was so sad.

She he was still awaiting his explanation, and so before he could let the moment pass him by, he said "I was just...thinking of you."

While it made him feel stupid and he was certain he sounded like a fool, Duchess stood back up and crossed her arms, considering that for a moment. Was he really just thinking about her? Was that it?

"Really?" She asked.

Sparrow sighed and set his instrument down against the tree, standing up to face her.

"You know what's the best part about my story? It's the part where I get to steal precious things from those who are well and better off who don't deserve them...and then giving those precious things to those who truly need them."

"What do you mean?" Duchess whispered nervously due to the decreasing distance between them. Sparrow closed the gap and removed her arms from around her chest and held her.

"This school is full of suckers that they can force destiny onto. They don't need you." He stepped forward again, holding on to her as they backed into the water. He would stay afloat so long as she didn't let go of him, or so he'd overheard his roommate saying once.

"And let's just say... I know know someone who does need you."

Before Duchess could reply he kissed her, and she grasped him suddenly.

She only pulled away to look him in the eyes, "...take me away from it all..." She surrendered. "I'll go with you."

And nd with that, she began to dance, and he followed her as best as he could. Unlike Rotbart he hadn't the grace or skill, nor had be watched her routine from his window for years, but he trusted her to not let him drown, and in doing so neither would she.

From his window Rotbart sadly smiled. Now that she had found love, even if he didn't approve, there was nothing left for him to lose. He would embrace his new story and rest in peace whenever fate might choose to take him now.

-And so ends Part One-


	6. Chapter 6

**This is the last upload today I swear! I was just on a roll and wrote the whole entire three or so chapters in one sitting. **

**SORRY! Also, sorry if this sounds rushed or is bad with timing and pacing. It's my first time working with this fairy tale theme.**

Chapter five.

"Heads will roll." Lizzie concluded furiously, pure intent laced through her usually harmless catchphrase after she witnessed the footage. "I'd be more than happy to carry it out too!" She stood up and screamed, slashing the tops off of a whole bouquet of flowers beside her.

She and several other royals were in the Royal study room and none of them could believe it.

Briar very cautiously replied, "No, Lizzie, Apple should decide what to make of it. Seriously, I always knew Daring was a bit of a play-prince but-"

Lizzie cut her off emotionally, "OF WITH HIS HEAD!" Before storming out of the room. Although no one understood her history with Daring they could see she was hurt and didn't say anything else as she slammed the door, a crack appearing diagonally across the wooden structure.

Blondie huffed and stood up, "See? Everyone is affected by this. While I don't personally judge the rebels, I feel it is very selfish of him to go this far with another girl. Sure, Apple might say they've got forever after before they're meant to be, but with the way this is going,"

She tapped her mirrorpad with distaste, "Apple's story is just falling to pieces! First Raven left, but at least back then she still had a Prince Charming to look forward to!"

Briar folded her arms and replied, "hey, you know, at least there are a thousand other guys out there who are willing to give their hearts to Apple... I have to wait a whole century to marry a guy I don't even know!"

Ashlynn didn't say anything, but looked away fiddling with some flowers on the floor trying to ignore what was going on. She and Hunter were no longer the heat of the schools gossip but that didn't make her feel okay with others suffering the same treatment.

She and Briar had had a conversation about their futures shortly before last year's throne coming and she knew where Briar really stood as far as destinies go. At the same time though, they all knew that look in her eyes.

Apple loved Daring, more than she was willing to show. It hurt her when he flirted with the others but she was too kind and afraid of upsetting anyone to speak up about it. This would just break her heart. It was then that she got an idea.

"Hey, before we tell Apple about this, I think I know who we should go to to talk about it first."

Blondie took one look at her and read her mind, "Ashlynn, it doesn't work that way. This is Apple's problem, not ours." She said although appreciative of the offer.

"If anything I think we should at least ask her if its really okay to post this stuff up all over the school." She said.

She sighed and folded her arms defensively, "look, back when Hunter and I were caught out we felt horrible, and I don't think Cerise and Daring deserve that. Apple should find out on her own instead of having it forced on her."

It was then that finally Blondie calmed down enough to put it into perspective. While she still was not happy with what Daring had done, and kept it a secret too, she did remember how hard it had been for Ash and Hunter to integrate back into society when it had happened.

"But, Ash, you didn't have someone promised to you since the day your were born. Apple has been waiting her whole life for him, and he doesn't even care." Briar said.

Ashlynn sighed again and slumped into a chair, feeling bad that she almost sided more with the secret lovers than Apple, her good friend.

"Her world has always been her story, and now it's just being destroyed." She muttered.

Briar spoke up again, trying to ease her conscience, "Well maybe Apple has been taking fate too seriously... Maybe this is a good thing...?"

They all knew they didn't feel the same about it and it was going nowhere. Blondie grumbled a bit, but regardless of her gut feeling, she began deleting the evidence from her mirrorpad.

"Fine then, we will just have to let Apple find out for herself." She concluded.

"Find out what?" Apple softly inquired, startling them all. She looked a little shaken, and paler than was normal for the snow skinned princess. A furious and Riddlish babbling Lizzie could be heard off in the distance.

They all stared in shock, their hearts stopped.

"Apple, what did Lizzie say to you?" Blondie asked, her finger still just above the last piece of evidence still left on her device.

"I...I don't know but she seemed very angry, even for Lizzie..." She said quietly. "Then, I came to the door and there was a crack in it...and..."

Her friends all came around her as she collapsed and began to sob, and no matter whose side they were on they knew who was important right now.

Later that night Blondie showed her what she'd found after giving her an update on all that had happened that week while she had been away.

Raven was permanently gone, and replaced with some Swan Lake sociopath, Duchess was a rebel, and Daring was dating Cerise. Not just a date. Not just flirting, but a fully blown, passionate, secret relationship.

Apple was completely like stone, sitting at her dressing table and applying makeup on her face even though she would have to go to bed soon. She figured she wouldn't be able to sleep after discovering what she had, and she had some early business to attend to in the morning so it had better be done now than later.

Raven entered the room having been updated by a panicked Ashlynn that Apple was dealing with the news very badly.

She tried to remain silent and undetected as she attempted to slip into bed.

"I hate you." She hissed.

Raven's soul practically exploded after hearing such an absurd phrase escape the red lips of her roommate.

"You've ruined everything. Just, everything." She continued. "One day I'll get you back for this. You'll see."

Between the two of them, Apple was starting to sound more like a future evil queen...

XxXxXxX

Hunter slumped into his bed heavily and tiredly as he let the news sink in. Of all the fairy tale teens in this school he'd never even suspected such a thing from one of THE MOST depended on and important prince of their generations.

The legacy of Snow White was a huge staple in their society, and with both the original villain and the prince gone, all that was left was a crazy sorcerer who hated Apple, and Apple with no one to save her.

"Wow." He whispered.

"Wow what?" Dexter dared to inquire, not as intimidated by his roommate as he used to be.

Hunter rolled over in bed and looked at him like he was crazy, "You mean you haven't heard? Your brother is a rebel!"

A silence passed and then all the windows of the boys dorm rooms shuddered and shattered following the very manly scream which followed.

Inside his head that night billions things swirled around in his mind, but none more so than Raven. This was it. If someone like his perfect brother was going all out, then no one could say anything about him if he should dare...

And he would!

Maybe...

~To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

**I know I promised Dexven but this came out instead and I felt the need to incorporate it.**

**please tell me Daring is done right... DX. **

Dexter felt ridiculous, as usual, all that excitement from the previous night had completely washed away when the everlasting waterfall of manly-prince-tears came in the form of his older brother found its way on top of him.

There he lay in bed, squashed underneath the crying and pathetic drama king.

"Daring...you're seriously overreacting. Rebels have to deal with treatment like that ALL THE TIME, you know. You don't see them carrying on like this." He said, trying to ease him.

He only wailed louder, "Oh, yeah, NOW I KNOW! And I hate it! My life is OVER!" He threw a hand up to his face and pathetically slid off the bed to the floor.

Dexter gulped the air hungrily and then sat up, relishing the cool air of the morning after five minutes of sweating under a certain melodramatic.

Dexter watched half in sympathy and half in frustration as his brother carried on on the floor, curled up and feeling royally sorry for himself.

"I sure hope Cerise hasn't seen you like this." Dexter commented, knowing that such a fit like this one would probably earn him the pink slip with ANY girl, and Cerise was one tough girl to please he'd been told.

Daring smacked his head against the floor and moaned, "What does it all matter now? How can I be worthy of her if I couldn't maintain the secrecy of our forbidden love! My poor Cerise, she wouldn't want me now for that was her only condition!

What kind of prince am I, who was sworn to succeed in all that I do, and yet I've chosen to bite the cursed apple of temptation, which lead to sure failure and death! And yet, it was only a better life that I was seeking!

How sweet did it taste, that I should yearn for more until finally someone discovered the bare and scrawny core, and the juices of its tender flesh still lingers on my lips, from which my fair maid would kiss it away" He rambled, sobbing throughout his little soliloquy.

Dexter sighed and rolled his eyes, "Well, that's love for you. It comes with a price to follow your heart."

Daring whimpered a little, looking up at him resentfully, "Oh, you don't think I've realised that already?"

He sat up and then continued, "It sure is easy for you to say that, you don't know what it's like to be in my position!" He pushed him over onto his back and spoke bitterly,

"I'm not just feeling sorry for myself, you ignorant jerk! Don't you think I hate the way it has to be like this? Can you not even fathom what I'm going through right now?"

He pushed off and then spun on his heel to face the door, "it's not even been a day yet and already people are repulsed by my presence... Cerise won't even come near me for fear of what... I don't know..." He admitted, a rare and intimate vulnerability in his voice, all dramatics aside.

"To just think... all this time I thought rebels were just getting what they deserved, but now I see what a jerk I AM...or was."

He looked back slightly, "Having always been so sympathetic with their plight I thought you'd make me feel better but clearly I was wrong."

Dexter watched as he stood there, almost not bothering to speak up about the fact that he did know where he was coming from. But maybe it would help him...

"Actually, Daring, I know now you feel. I've always been an outcast, even though I AM following my story...and as for love, huh, trust me I've got a much bigger problem than you."

Daring looked at him again, "Sorry, its a bit late for that. I'm done talking to you for now."

He decided to let him have his moment, honestly overwhelmed by the sudden sincerity and overcome with a touch of shame for having assumed his brother was just being dramatic.

Now he REALLY felt ridiculous, and scared too. The other night when he had slept in his carefree haze he had imagined that his brother having been as popular, and important and as highly revered as he was... Well could you really blame Dexter for thinking somehow Daring of all people would get away with it somehow?

The other night he had thought that if Daring could get away with it then so could he, but clearly not. He dressed slowly, a pit of deep discomfort and guilt became prevalent inside him and suddenly he began to second guess everything.

Raven was supposedly the heiress to the most evil title in all of ever after, and while some whole heartedly believed otherwise, it wasn't enough people to make a difference. Dexter was already an outcast...

Then it came to him. That was right! He was ALREADY an outcast, and therefore...what did he have to lose? And heck, the evil queen needs a good king to marry doesn't she?

He smiled at himself in the mirror before slowly morphing back into a grimace. That thought didn't help as much as he'd hoped.

Meanwhile, Daring was just trying to find a reason to be alive. While it had only been half a day since everyone had known, it was just so shocking, how fast they'd dropped him.

All that time, his fame, and his respect from the others in society, was all just fake. He should have seriously known that, but being born and raised to expect such things made him completely blind to the suffering of others. When he met cerise and discovered her secret, while at first he was horrified, he soon came to realise that there were others who were so much less fortunate than he was.

It was like seeing for the first time that there was wrong in the world being done by supposedly good people, and he wanted to take her up in his arms and save her from it. Now though, he was a victim too and she had been avoiding him like the plague since that fateful afternoon.

Strolling cautiously down the hallways there was such a thick layer of gossip in the air, one could almost make out its hazy, evil, purple colour.

He was lost in a world of pity, until he caught on to what they were all talking about.

"Hey, look! Cerise Hood is getting interviewed in front of the chemythstry room!" Someone shouted.

Tons of teens began flocking around to see what was going on, and Daring ended up getting swept up in the crowd. Sure enough, there was Cerise, backed up against a locker bay by some students who were pestering her with questions and cameras and other unnecessary tools of media.

"Are you dating Daring to spite Apple for her strong disapproval of the Rebel society?"

"Under what circumstances did this relationship occur?"

"Does Raven and her new story switch up have anything to do with your decisions?"

They kept asking and asking...

"They're totally harassing her!" Daring cried, unheard amongst the students around him. It was so alien to be ignored and pushed around like this.

Cerise had simply wanted to study for her chemythstry exam today and get it over and done with, but as soon as she was so much as a foot from the room, this furious mob of school paper and other social media hounds came running like gingerbread men and women, frantically pestering her with questions.

Her usual shadow cloak was broken thanks to the last mob that plagued her yesterday, and her mother had yet to fix it, loaning her own cloak, which while red, lacked the magical qualities. She couldn't escape, or hide.

Honestly she should have been expecting this. Rotbart when and flipped the script with Raven, and then Duchess being a rebel happened, followed by a sudden shock discovery of Daring and her relationship.

As a central character in this scandalous play of events, naturally everyone wanted to know her opinions but they were being so bigoted and poky and annoying about it. Her feral side was dying to just burst forth and demolish them all and by the second it was getting harder to manage.

Daring wanted to do something, but the crowd was too tight, and he couldn't so much as budge.

He tried calling to her to her attention, but it was to no avail. Soon it became too much for her and she growled viciously at the all, barring fangs and yellowed eyes. Everyone ran and screamed in confusion, and some people cried that she was possessed, or cursed.

Daring was finally set free as people began to move again, and he watched her go off, her hands on her face.

"Cerise..." He muttered. He ran after her.

"No! Go away!" She shouted, not looking back, "Just leave me alone!"

"No wait, I'm not going to harass you...it's just me! Daring!" He pleaded.

She didn't immediately stop, but she slowed, coming to a pause before a window, looking out across the village of bookend in the distance.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Nothing. I just wanted to know if you're okay." He said. "Because I know I'm not."

She sighed quietly and tugged her cloak tighter around herself, "I'll live. They should just wait until Dad gets back from sick leave. I'd like to see him huff and puff and blow them into the next chapter." She growled.

He smiled a little, having come to like her wolf related jokes, liking that he could be on the inside with their family humor. He came up behind her, and carefully embraced her.

"I tried to stop them. The crowd was too thick. I'm sorry." He admitted.

She shrugged and gingerly folded her arms around his, and they were silent for a while.

"I totally went feral in front of them all. This is so bad..first they all find out about you, and now I'm jeopardising my family..." She broke away from him, but he wasn't taking it.

"No, Cerise, you have to stop running away from me!" He stated desperately.

"All I'm going to do is hurt you and drag you into my messed up world...you should go back to them all, and just be happy." She replied.

"Yeah, you'll hurt me if you leave." He replied.

She stole a glance at him, torn between running away as fast as she could, or running into his arms like a pathetic damsel. She didn't need to be saved by anyone.

"You know, I'm not sure about you but, this is the first time I've had people hate me...I'm just as lost as you are...maybe even more." He said.

"Oh, great..." She sighed, "So you're the one who needs saving?" She joked.

She took him in her arms, truly glad to be there again no matter how fine she thought she felt about leaving him forever.

"I love you more than they hate you, don't worry. I won't leave. We're loyal like that anyway." She whispered to him, and he kissed her.

A dark pair of eyes spied them from afar.

"Oh, how sweet." Apple whispered, clasping her hands in mock joy.

XxXxXxX

Dexter had heard about the whole situation that day, but listened as Daring recounted the whole thing to him, that usual princely spark back in his demeanour and attitude. While he was clearly stretching the details of the events, Dexter was glad to see his brother back up again after his melodramatic slump this morning.

"So you think you'll be with her forever?" He asked casually.

Daring sighed and then shrugged, "I hope so. I don't know how we're going to do it, but it's totally on the to-do list."

Daring looked over at him, and then hummed. "You know, I cut you off this morning before I left your dorm room. You were trying to tell me something, weren't you?" He remembered.

He nodded, and then thought for a moment or two before deciding to answer.

"Well, what if I told you that for the longest time I've been actually chasing a rebel girl myself?" He began.

Daring's eyes lighted up a little, "Oh, really? Seriously? I didn't even know you liked girls!" He exclaimed, and Dexter kindly ignored him.

"Well, yeah, I've been totally after her since first sight, and was even BEFORE legacy day last year. Before rebels even had a name for themselves, I mean." He sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"But everyone hates her, and until I heard about you and Cerise I was afraid to do anything about it...I still am after your little tantrum this morning."

Daring rolled his eyes about the 'tantrum' part, but asked, "so? Who is she? Can you tell me? Maybe we could set something up for you..." He nudged his brother in the side with his elbow which earned a couch cushion to the face.

"Oh, can it, Daring. She isn't the kind of girl who goes for little ploys and flirty nonsense. I've got to be straight up with her. I tried to be subtle once, back on True Hearts Day last year, but because I'm an idiot, I signed my love letter 'D. Charming' and she went and thought the letter was from YOU..." He said.

"Wait, true hearts day? You mean that huge party for Ashlynn and Hunter they threw?" He asked, his memory of the party a little hazy since he hadn't known Cerise back then. Yeah, it was that bad.

Dexter shrugged, "Well, sort of. It actually is a holiday for everyone to be true to themselves and their hearts..." He trailed off thinking about how it all went wrong that night.

"Ahem." Daring coughed, "you still haven told me who...?" He prodded.

Dexter snapped back into it and then sat up straighter, "uh.. Oh! Yes, of course... Well you won't believe it but,"

He leaned it, aware that these days secrets were getting less and less safe, "Raven Queen..." He whispered excitedly.

And now, it was Daring's turn to scream in a manly-womanly fashion.

"What? Are you serious?" He asked, "But you're so innocent and awkward! How does a guy like you even FIT with her? I mean...no offence or anything..." He shrugged.

Dexter growled a little, but replied, "Oh please, years of social belittling and torment doesn't leave anybody innocent. And I can just tell from the few times we've interacted that she's not all bad news like everyone thinks she is. You know...beauty lies within and all."

Daring raised and eyebrow, "Does this have anything to do with your destiny?" He asked suddenly.

Dexter sputtered and then scooted away, "No! It actually doesn't!" He retorted, "but...I have been thinking about that lately."

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "I don't want to be the beast. I don't know why they want me to. But, that isn't the reason. I just love her the way she is, which is how it should be." He concluded.

"Well, I guess now is a better time than any to do something about it." Daring said.

Dexter looked at him in distress, "But if they're giving you a hard time, then just imagine how much hard it'll be for me! I was sure i could do it before, but now I'm back to square one!"

Daring looked at him and said, "You said so yourself though, years of torment and outcast doesn't leave a person innocent anymore. But, it's up to you anyway."

With that he got up to go to bed.

"Yeah." He replied, "But where to start."

"Well, talking to her, for starters. Maybe you could enrolls in some of her classes to get to know her better..." He relied off.

"Yeah... I'll think about it." He said, and then got up off to bed too.

~To be continued


	8. Chapter 8

Headmaster Grimm glared suspiciously at the application before him, wanting it to burst into flames. Oh, for hex sake, HE wanted to burst into flames. This whole generation of fairy tales was utterly ruined, but as a proper businessman and role model he was too valuable to the establishment to spontaneously combust.

"Oh, why? Why me? Why my school?" He sighed tossing down Dexter Charming's application to join the home evilnomics class. He grunted in irritation as a maid poured him some tea.

"Its nothing to worry about, Master Grimm, they'll all eventually come to. A little teenage rebellion can't actually amount to anything when they're all grown and ready to fall into place." She tried to assure him.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Oh, sure. That'll be the day. Sometimes I just wish I could reset the universe and change it all before it happened...there just be some kind of spell for that..." He muttered.

"Nope. There isn't, and trust me sir, I've looked." She responded curtly, "otherwise I wouldn't be working for you." She snipped before leaving the room.

He folded his arms and hummed, unimpressed as she closed the elaborate bedroom door shut. He sat there in his overly cushy bed, and glared at the unnecessarily cheery looking ducks all over his dressing robe, and he pondered why on earth a future Prince Charming would want so badly to join a class for evil people.

Naturally, there were a few evil prince spots open at the moment, but none of them really suited his character type. Even he chosen destiny on his parents behalf made no sense. He wasn't the type of prince to be the Beast at all. His brother on the other hand..

He shook his head and smacked his forehead with his hand, chiding himself for thinking about such things. That infernal rebellion was contagious...here he was like a fool considering switching around people's destinies.

"Fine, whatever. I give up now, since either way they're not going to listen." He hissed, tossing the papers to his bedside, ready to be stamped ACCEPTED in the morning.

Dimming the candle by his bed he slumped under his $3,000 bedsheets and grumbled to himself.

XxXxXxX

Dexter couldn't believe it. He was in shock as he held the letter of acceptance in his hand and struggled to read it as it shook with his excitement.

"I've been accepted? Seriously?" He cried.

A few other princes turned to look his way, he didn't take notice though as he began to suddenly leap around for joy, dancing on the spot and cheering like a lunatic.

"I got accepted! I GOT ACCEPTED!"

"Got accepted into what?" Someone asked, but he didn't respond. He kissed the letter a hundred times and then bolted off to go tell his brother.

Dashing through the halls, he bumped into Apple instead who went flying backwards, Dexter landing on top of her. In shock there was a short silence before students surrounding them started hooting and whistling, much to their dismay.

Getting up off her as quick as he could he started picking up her books that were strewn, and Apple found her way to his letter. She stared at it and her heart sank, a wave of "I-think-I-know-what's-going-on" hitting her hard.

They both stood up and the students settled down, returning to their own business.

"Oh, wow, I am so sorry about that! I was just too excited to watch where I was going..." He trailed off when Apple failed to notice he was handing her books back. Her eyes were locked with the letter.

Dexter shifted uncomfortably and then spoke up again, "Uh, Apple?"

"You applied for home evilnomics?!" She cried, garnering the attention of a few students again.

Dexter yelped and then took her by the hand and dragged her off to another room, hoping to the dear heavens that no one had really heard what she'd blurted out.

He slammed the door and then whirled around, only to be confronted with a scarier sight. Apple looked absolutely devastated...for what reason he was pretty sure.

She dropped the letter onto a desk and then slumped into a chair, staring off sadly. Dexter cleared his throat and then tried to decide what to say but nothing could come to his mind.

Apple sighed and then rubbed her forehead wearily, "Wow. This year has been pretty intense. I don't think I can handle this much change in only one semester." She muttered.

Dexter didn't know why he was feeling guilty, but he decided that he should at least try and talk to her about it.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, feeling pretty lame now.

She laughed, and then shrugged, "No, not really...it's just so unexpected." She looked him in the eyes and just couldn't wrap her head around how such a sweet and charming boy could want to be in a class for evil.

She couldn't believe it. She knew it wasn't the class he was after.

"Yeah," Dexter said, scratching the back of his head a little, "I know. And to be honest I don't know why I applied for it...I mean there are plenty of other classes Raven's in..." He stopped suddenly and then choked, realising he'd said a little too much.

Apple didn't look shocked though, and he had no idea if she already about his less than little crush, but for the first time he could see such a...

Sadness? Disapproval? No...more like forfeit or defeat...or brewing vengeance...

She stood up and then sighed again, handing him the letter.

"Um, are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded.

"I'm just a little confused with all the goings on this year. I'm going to have to poison myself and never wake up at this rate." She breathed. She brushed past him and then turned, looking at him sadly.

"At least I can say it makes sense a little bit. Every evil queen is sought after by at least one good king or prince, even if she's clearly set on never fulfilling that role. I just can't believe it would be you..." She said.

She exited the room and then for a while he felt terrible...horrible.

He almost felt like giving up and changing his mind...but a gentle hand found its way onto his shoulder.

He was startled but was relieved to see it was only Cupid.

"You were in this room?" He asked, wondering if she'd seen that episode. She nodded and then shrugged over towards the mirrors on the wall on the other side.

"I was just getting back from a visit to my old school. The mirrors are portals to this world from theirs." She explained.

Dexter nodded and then stared at the magical swirling mirrors for a moment. That's right, of all places, Cupid used to attend a school for...ugh...monsters.

But then, coming back to the situation, he looked at her and then sighed, "Cupid, I almost don't want to do it. I know I'm upsetting more than Apple by doing this but...part of me just is so irritated that the world doesn't want me to be happy. What should I do?" He asked.

Having long ago forsaken her wishes to be with him, giving up her endeavour for love only this once, Cupid knew exactly what to say.

Pointing her arrow shaped ring teasingly at his heart, she said, "I think you know exactly what to do."

He looked at her ringed finger and then back up at her again. She smiled at him, and explained,

"Times are changing so fast that we can't expect to please everyone, and I've personally learned that the hard way in some cases. People will get hurt but it's impossible to avoid. Sometimes you just have to be selfish, and I know that isn't in your nature. I know they teach you not to be, but this is for your own good."

Looking down at his letter of acceptance, he picked it up and then slowly smiled.

"If I wasn't already in love, I'd say I love you. You know that?" He whispered.

She blushed but she knew better than to say anything more.


	9. Chapter 9

XxXxXxX

Sitting in class for the first time, he could feel their eyes all on him, but none more so than Apple. Why the hex was she even in this class?

And from the other side of him, he couldn't help but burn under the gaze of the most beautiful and enchanting princess there ever was. Raven.

Settling for sitting between a witch and a goblin looking guy to avoid suspicion, he tried to focus on the lecture, but it wasn't working. His mind...and his eyes kept wandering back to Raven.

She waved to him lightly, and he couldn't hold back a small crooked smile, which she returned. She mouthed the words "why are you here?"

He shrugged, but the loud and dangerous smacking of a ruler in front of his desk grabbed his attention, the teacher scowling down at him.

"This isn't Wooing 101 Mr. Charming! You can keep that flowery, sissy nonsense outside of this classroom, am I making myself clear?" She condescendingly declared. The villainous students laughed at him, and he wanted to disappear into a puff of smoke, but sadly he'd missed the module on evasive and escape spells and potions.

Raven stole a sincerely sorry glance at him, that he shrugged to, before returning to his notes.

Apple sniffed and rolled her eyes.

Rotbart smiled from the seat behind her, leaning forward when the teacher was turned around, "Is someone jealous?" He cooed sarcastically.

She flipped her hair over to her other shoulder, whipping him in the face with it and he cursed in Russian, spitting some strands out.

He took it in good humor though, continuing, "Oh dear, all the princes are running away from you. Perhaps there won't be anyone to save you when I'm through with you." He whispered.

Apple pressed her quill so hard into the page that the fibres in the feather frayed and cracked leaving a splatter of ink all over the page.

Things only got worse for her though when it came time for free discussion. She scoffed as Dexter made a beeline for Raven's desk.

XxXxXxX

Dexter was so glad to be away from that Goblin guy. Nothing in the whole first forty minutes of this class was driving him madder more than the pungent odor coming off that freak.

He gasped for air and slumped into the chair next to her, a little to relived to breathe to care if it was graceless. She didn't mind though, chuckling.

"Dexter, that's what you get for sitting next to Gruffin Bridges!" She stated, a light chuckle in her voice.

"That troll really needs to hurry up and find a brook to live in if you ask me.." He hissed.

She giggled and then they sat for a while, not saying much. The class was very quickly alive with chatter and they almost forgot they were sitting together.

Raven stole a long glance at him, focussing on him intensely. While she was more than pleased to finally share another class with him than just the one with Rumplestiltskin, she was still bursting with curiosity.

"So.." She said suddenly, earning a startled jump from the prince beside her, "what the hex are you doing in this class?" She asked, folding her arms.

Dexter laughed and then shifted in his chair, "Well... When I'm all grown up and I'm out doing...I dunno, hero stuff or whatever, I uh...I figured I'd be better off knowing the inner workings of evil..." He began.

That had legitimately been his reasoning he had written when asking to join the class.

Raven's eyes widened as she considered that. "Wow, that's actually a good idea. Take them down from the inside...very crafty." She said, nodding her head approvingly. Her arms came to rest in her lap, feeling a little more comfortable.

"So, why are YOU in this class, anyway? Didn't you swear off of evil?" He asked, hoping to continue the conversation instead of giving in to her another awkward silence.

She smiled and waved her hand, "Oh, I might try to fake like my magic is all under control, but let's face it. If I ever want to avoid doing bad magic, I need to be able to control it first. But..."

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "No other class will let me join that teaches magic and control, just because I'm ...well, ME."

Dexter frowned and turned to her, "well they're all idiots then!" He blurted, covering his mouth as soon as he'd said it.

He blushed and she smiled, "Oh, thanks Dex. It's okay though. I'll live." She said.

A hint of disappointment was still lingering in her aura and he hummed, in thought.

He began to drift off for a while, and Raven began to doodle in her notebook randomly.

He leaned on one arm against the desk and sighed, staring at her. He had rarely gotten the chance to be this close to her save for a few times, but this time was different.

She wasn't any different herself, but now that he didn't feel ashamed to sit next to her, he tried to take in every detail he could.

Her pale skin was almost as fair as Apple's but was just a tone more sun kissed. Her hair, which fell like rippling water and cascaded smoothly down her back and over her shoulders was shimmering under the dim light of the evil classroom.

She eventually felt his gaze on her as she met his eyes with her own and she looked down, blushing a little.

He began to think again about the class, and he stared at his notes. He hadn't written much since most of his time had been spent trying not to breathe.

Raven glanced over at his notes and snickered. "Wow...and I thought I needed help with my magic!" She teased.

He laughed with her and covered his face with his hand, "Oh, I know...I have no idea what I'm doing." He admitted.

Raven gasped suddenly and then an idea struck, "hey, wait a minute!"

She grabbed his hands, and he felt extremely hot suddenly as she did, and then she drew nearer to him, quietly exclaiming, "How about I help you out?" She began, "I may not be planning on being evil, but I'm a total ace at this class! I could help you through it if you like!"

Dexter gaped for a moment and then, gripping her hands tighter in his own, he replied, "Yes! Yes, it can be like a date!" He bounced a little in his seat before replaying that over in his head.

Ravens eyes widened a little and she blushed, holding back a smile.

"..um...a study date! I mean!" He corrected, pulling his hands away.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She said, rubbing an arm.

XxXxXxX


	10. Chapter 10

The Royals and Rebels didn't have specifically designated rooms for study, but lately the rift had been very severe and so in order to maintain peace, they as separate cliques had unanimously agreed to keep to differed sides of the school.

Dexter had never been to this side, or even this level of the school before. It was almost dungeon like, save for the brightly coloured lights, and decorations (All generously donated by Maddie's dad and so consequentially, the items in the room were 'colourful' in more ways than one)

Dexter sat down on a chair carefully, hoping it wouldn't float like the other one did on the other side of the room. There was no one here luckily to have seen his little mishap with the floating chair, the exploding confetti candelabra, the rug that pulls itself out from under you, and the cuckoo clock that had a screeching Jabberwocky head for a 'birdie'

He sighed with relief, and sunk into the chair, wondering how the hex anyone could study in a place like this, but he didn't mind.

Since Raven was helping him with his class work, he had decided to pay it back by borrowing out some useful books on magic control and using bad magic for good spells and purposes. Apparently every now again even an evil witch needs to use her magic for well intentions.

He twiddled his thumbs for a long while, trying to not stare at the clock, for fear that the Jabberwocky would pop out and screech at him again.

Finally, Raven appeared in a flurry of little black feathers and smoke. "So, did you come prepared?" She asked teasingly.

He nodded, "Oh yeah! And I brought you these too!" He held up the books and she grinned widely.

"This is going to be the best study night ever!" She thought to herself.

For a long time now she had secretly had this nagging attraction to him. She was level headed enough not to just swoon or faint or coo over him like normal girls and princesses did, but that didn't make her any less a girl with a crush. She loved the way his crown wrapped around his head rather than just sitting on it. While most of the guys crowns did that, it was just more noticeable with Dexter.

His cute little hipster glasses, and his messy hair were adorable, and she loved the way he kept that scarf around his neck. Who ever said a prince can't be up with the trends of commoner fashion anyway?

For a long while it was actual, genuine study that they were accomplishing, but it quickly turned to casual banter and conversation.

Dexter had honestly never felt more alive. Raven was laughing at the end of his story about how he and some friends got turned into frogs by this witch pop star who only did concerts on Halloween.

"And then I said afterwards, 'wow, now I know what it's like to be Hopper!" He finished.

Raven closed up her books and relaxed into the overly soft couch. "What was her name? I think I've heard of her before." She asked.

"Casta and the Spells. She's more popular on the other side of the looking glass apparently. She played at Monster High this year." He said.

"Oh, yeah, I knew her Mom. I met her once back when I was still being forced to be Evil back in middle school." She said.

The dreaded silences that they almost had avoided the whole night decided to finally revive themselves and they sat for a while not saying anything. Dexter couldn't stand it.

He had this adrenaline like no other coursing through him, and he fidgeted in his seat, anticipating something...another sentence...another topic. Waiting was killing him, but he was unsure of what to say, or how to initiate something,

"Ahem..." He coughed, and then finally tore his eyes away, saddened to let her out of his sight.

"So, how has the year been for you?" He asked, "Are you okay? I hear the media has been giving you and my brother a really hard time."

She groaned and dropped her head, "Oh man. And I thought legacy day was bad. Seriously, I think there are plenty of other things they could worry about in the world, but they just can't get over it." She threw her hands up exasperatedly.

Dexter hummed in agreement and then replied, "Well, for what it's worth... I'm really proud of you for doing it...like, I mean, everything you've done so far."

She looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks, Dex. Your one of very few."

"One day, though, there will be more of us." He stated, turning on a lightly serious tone, "The future for wonderful fairy tale characters like you doesn't have to be bleak anymore."

Raven was taken aback, and was even a little unsure of how to take such praise. It was nice, of course, and it filled her heart with joy too.

"Wow, I...I didn't know you felt that strongly." She admitted.

He turned all the way towards her and then, not thinking, he took her hand in his, "Yes you do." He whispered.

Raven raised an eyebrow, still a little stunned at now forward and bold this usually shy and awkward prince was being. She liked it though...

"What do you mean?"

"True hearts day, Raven." He stated, "I've already told you how I feel. That letter you got? It wasn't from Daring...it was mine." He said.

She already knew this, of course, and she remembered...but then she also remembered seeing him holding hands with Cupid, and she pulled her hand away.

"But, then at the party I saw you with Cupid!" She said, suddenly second guessing all of his words.

He was confused for a moment before it sank in.

"Oh? Oooooh, oh no, no! Are you serious?" He whispered, "You really thought that..she and I?"

He stared at her and then began to laugh. Raven blankly stared at him, and he only laughed harder.

Regaining a bit of composure he took a deep breath and said, "Raven, all that was was Cupid telling me to make the right decision with my heart! She was just trying to help me make up my kind about...you."

He sighed and then took her hands back and she gingerly held them, avoiding eye contact a little. She felt a little silly now having assumed such a thing.

"Oh...and all this time I've been thinking you weren't onto me anymore." She muttered.

She looked up at him and his forehead came down to rest on hers, the warm metal of his crown kissing her hairline.

"I was always into you..." He said finally. "I love you Raven. I want to change the world with you."

Not knowing quite how to respond, she was frozen for a moment or two before giving in and throwing herself into an embrace around him. She wept a little, not afraid to express it now. All her life she'd been convinced she'd be alone forever. She had accepted this false theory that as an ex evil character she would never find someone who shared a soul, and yet here he was.

He tightly returned her embrace and kissed her head. Things couldn't be better for him right now. For them.

To be continued~

Authors Note: WHOO! Since I bailed out on writing Dexven for this long, I treated you guys to a multi chapter dosage of one of my favorite ships! I apologise for any OOC. This is my first time writing this shipping.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day Apple was up, early and ready to go find this Rotbart she'd been told about way back on the day she'd come back from holidays. She had had some vile interaction with him since that day but today she was going to give him a piece of her mind.

She now realised she would never get through to Raven, and to make it worse, she had somehow managed to seduce yet another good and noble soul to the dark side. Seeing Dexter Charming making those googoo eyes at her, and holding her hands was just the icing on the big and fat DaringxCerise flavoured cake that was smashed into her face.

It was hopeless she felt. She was at her wits end... but maybe if she could at least find out what this other villain was like she might be able to get him to change his mind. After all, since raven was so easily 'converted to good' then maybe this guy could be bent to her will.

The last thing she needed right now was a villain and no one there to rescue her. Unlike Briars curse which was intended to last forever, Snow White's version of the sleeping death could become permanent if not dealt with in time.

Apple was reputed to be the fairest of them all, and by fairy godmother she was going to try her hardest to stay that way.

She passed Daring on her way out of the school and she just looked at him. He looked back and then at the ground. He knew he'd done her harm, but wasn't ready to face her yet. He strode away quickly, wishing he had a specific hooded cape right now to curl up under and hide in the shadows forever.

Apple continued on her quest. She knew very little of this young sorcerer but that he was originally the antagonist of Duchess's story. Facing the wild swan was never a simple or pleasant task, and now that she was a rebel it might even be harder.

Finally she reached the lake, the spinning, twirling princess came to a halt and gazed in her direction neutrally.

Apple curtseyed knowing this was Duchess's domain, "May I have a word with you, Duchess?" She murmured.

Duchess sniffed at her, but decided to humor her, tip toeing over to the spot, "What do you need?" She spat, still upset from her recent life choices, but cheered and thrilled slightly to hear that Apple was faring no better.

"It's about Rotbart. I want to know what he's like." Apple explained, "he was your villain, so you should know a bit about him...and I don't really want to ask him myself." She confessed. "He keeps creepily whispering into my ears about how he wants to kill me.. And I just don't know if I can take it..."

She hoped that whatever humanity was within the other princess would come through.

Duchess gave her a once over with her eyes and then smiled, "well, well, Apple White, the fairest of the all needs my advice and guidance. I never dreamed of such a notion." She taunted.

Apple sighed and continued, "Now is not the time Duchess, my actual LIFE is in danger here!" She tried to sympathise.

Duchess scoffed loudly scaring away some birds, "Life?! Don't talk to me about life! Little damsels like yourself have always had it the easy way! Planned marriages, secure futures, while the lower ranks of royalty get tossed around with corruption and murder. Welcome to the club Granny Smith!"

She twirled away, leaving her with one last jab, "Life? Life's not fair! But if you must know about Rotbart, his ancestors are truly some of the blackest and cruellest, leaving no option out of their plans to success. You'd best be on your toes from now on."

Apple clenched her fists and turned away cursing herself for even bothering to go to her for help. Sometimes she wished everything could just reset. She'd looked into a reset spell but unfortunately one could only reset a person at a time, not time itself.

She would have gone off into the woods, but after hearing about what forbidden activities where taking place within it, even her animal friends couldn't have helped her.

Just when things couldn't possibly get worse...

"Oh, is that the tears of a princess I hear?" A deep softly accented voice cooed. A shock of red hair, shaped like menacing flames invaded her peripheral vision.

Apple yelped and fell to the ground. Rotbart smirked and offered her a gloved hand to help her up at which she disdainfully sneered, batting it away in a manner most unfair.

His smirk dissolved as he stood back up and then asked, "Why wouldn't you come ask me yourself? You would be dealing with someone much more diplomatic than she is I can assure you."

Apple stood up and turned away, "No! I refuse to associate with you. Your aren't meant to be in my story, so get out of it!" She demanded keeping her cool.

He chuckled darkly and replied, suddenly directly behind her, his face close to her ear, "Oh, no, don't tell me...you don't want to be poisoned now? Even after all that time you cheerfully assumed my sister would?" He teased.

She shuddered and pushed him away. "No, I don't. Not by the likes of you! My story was ruined before you 'replaced Raven' but at least it wasn't destroyed!"

"Oh, your story hasn't been destroyed." He said, bored, "trust me, this is an improvement to that dull children's tale."

Apple twirled around and glared at him for calling her mothers life a childish tale.

"Look," he said, "Don't worry about your precious prince situation. I promise I won't poison you until we've found someone to save you." He said, having already read the situation.

She was shocked though, worried he was able to read her so easily.

She folded her arms and retorted, "Well I don't care if you'll wait! So long as you're in my story I'll never, ever eat another apple again!" She stomped her foot.

Her short lived bravado was cut off by a rumbling laugh, "Oh, my little princess, you don't understand. Apples are so last legacy. This is a new Snow White, and I can poison whatever it is I like." He stated.

She gasped backing away, "No! You can't!" She breathed.

"Yes I can. Just think of it...how exciting! To live each day in fear.. poisoned combs...corsets just a little too tight...maybe I might fancy transforming into a little critter, rather than some obvious hag. Admit it, you'd never even suspect me if I did." He grinned wider and wider as he tormented her, feeding the black part of his heart with her fear.

"Hey! You leave her alone!" A voice boomed. They both halted and stared at Daring who was suspiciously covered in fur.

"You said you'd wait for her to have someone to save her...so get lost! Wait then before you torment her, you sick fiend!" He demanded. Cerise stared on from the shadows afraid to come out.

Rotbart frowned, but conceded, not ready to take on the armed prince and his beastly backup. His magic wasn't worth wasting on them.

In a cloud of smoke he fled. Daring looked at Apple compassionately.

"Apple, I think we need to talk about all of this.." He began, but she had had enough.

"Oh, so you think that just because you saved me then, that it makes up for everything that's happened?" She pushed him.

"N-no, of course not!" He stammered, backing away, "I just care about you...I just-"

She pushed him away, enraged that even after he had betrayed her so, that he would even bother to be kind to her. It would be so much easier for her if he hated and mocked her. It would be easier to hate him for hurting her like this.

Before he could speak again she made her way to the forest and didn't stop.

She ran and ran until her feet had blisters and her heels were on the verge of breaking. She collapsed down on an abandoned bench and wept.

Her whole life was over. Even if she lived through all of this, was there even a point?

A hand fell upon her shoulder and she looked up, expecting some kind of fairy godmother...what she saw was even better.

"King Charming?" She asked.

~to be continued


	12. Chapter 12

Daring didnt want to let go of Cerise, but as the shadows began to shift, and the afternoon began to fade he knew he had stayed behind for long enough.

Time flew by faster than she could run, Cerise thought. It was already that time of year where most parents want their kids home for the summer break, and the Charming siblings were all requested to return to their very nearby kingdom.

Daring had never felt this kind of apprehension. He tore his lips from hers reluctantly and looked into her eyes, and wished more than anything that he could bring her home with him, and show her the life of a princess, and brag to his peers about his girl who was by far better than any reflection of his own that he'd ever fallen for.

He wanted her to meet his family, and for them to be pleased and proud, but...it was best they didn't know about her. That is, if the forsaken gossip hadn't already reached them.

Stroking her chocolate hair, and relishing in the feeling of it between his fingers, he didn't need to speak in order for her to already know what was going on in his mind.

Cerise unclasped a brooch from her cloak and pinned it to his jacket, pulling away with great sadness.

"Whatever happens, I'll always be here for you. Wolves honor." She swore. She knew it would hurt more if she stayed, so with a swift movement she disappeared into the forest leaving Daring there to sort himself out.

XxXxXxX

Dexter and Raven knew better than to let themselves be caught. So far, aside from being less awkward together in public, anyone would have assumed they were just two teens who were really good at Evilnomics class, and playing pranks in the rebel study on each other.

They found sanctuary in more intricate and hard-to-get-to places to avoid the spot light, and on this particular day, while their usually cheerful demeanour had taken a somber turn upon the dawn of summer break, they were making the most of it.

Dexter grasped her face with his hands, his lips locked tightly with hers and she wove her arms into his jacket and around his waist. He was beside himself, as he had been for the past month since this had started and considered himself the luckiest prince in all of Ever After.

Who knew that inside him, deep past the dull and classic princely mannerisms and habits that he'd been forced to adopt, was a beastly demon just dying to burst forth and ravage his dark princess.

Maybe his supposed destiny wasn't completely off the mark...but never mind that. That was totally three novels ago as far as he was concerned. Right now, in the attic of the highest tower of the lesser used wing of the school, in the rafters, between the roof and a generously sturdy beam of wood, the two kissed and whispered to each other their love and promises of reunion as soon as possible.

"I'm really going to miss you. It'll be totally strange, having someone to miss like this! It's exciting!" Raven breathed.

Dexter grinned and kissed her nose, "But we both know I'm gonna miss you more. I'll have to restrain myself from talking, thinking, dreaming about you..." He listed off teasingly on his fingers.

She snickered and punched him playfully in the arm, "And using 'Instant-madness' spells on the servants..." She continued.

"Oh! Come on, that was an accident! I didn't mean to! That potion was rigged to explode in the classroom!" He defended, smirking.

She simply shrugged and then with a last kiss to his cheek she said, "In any case, it's way late. You'll get in trouble if you miss your carriage out of here, and I'm not letting you try teleportation again. Ever." She poked his forehead firmly.

He sighed and then carefully hopped down from the rafter and onto the top of the bookcase below, offering to catch her, but she opted to just jump the whole way down.

"Are you crazy?" He asked, his heart beating a little too fast

"Instant Madness potion, Dex. You shouldn't have done it." She teased, brushing herself off.

He sighed and watched her to before scaling the bookcase down.

Home again, after such a crazy semester. It wouldn't be the same to go home to his white and polished castle with his curtseying servants and suitors and all his home-peers. He hated having to keep it a secret, but he just knew he wasn't ready to face the same treatment his brother had garnered.

He straightened up and then nodded, determined. This summer wouldn't be about him, he reminded himself. This summer he was going to be there for his brother and support him when things were sure to get rough.

As they met at the front gates of the school, both shared a look of understanding.

"Well, here goes nothing." Dexter said, patting his brother reassuringly.

XxXxXxX

Apple smiled and waved as the carriage sped off away from the castle of King Charming. Well...one of the king charmings, and to be precise, Daring and Dexters father.

After he had discovered her in the forest, he had taken her back to his home where she was cared for and then she told him about what their sons had chosen to do.

"With all due respect, your majesty," she clasped her hands and looked down, "I only want the best for everyone, and I have always cared so much about your sons. Please, please help them find their way. I can't do it, but you are his father."

She sighed and looked back up at him, "Surely you know what to do?" She whispered.

The king frowned, deep in thought, and he rubbed his forehead, humming tiredly. This was such a shock. He was almost in a position to dismiss it as some childish paranoia or rumour, but when Apple White spoke of anything, it was always with good intention and so he was forced to face the facts.

"My only sons, and this is how they repay me? What have I done wrong?" He threw his hands up.

Apple placed a hand on his knee as they sat across from one another in one of the many royal lounging rooms and she reassured him, "YOU have done nothing wrong. It's Raven Queen! The daughter of the evil queen! She...she..."

Apple stood up, shaking with every fibre in her body, and she began to weep with frustration. She stomped her foot on the ground and she spat, "She POISONS their minds! She takes evil to a whole new, and not called for level!"

The king stood up and tried to calm her, "Apple, it's okay, this is all just a part of the universal conflict of good and bad. It's natural for bad things to happen. I assure you, I am just as concerned as you."

His features darkened as he tried to imagine his gentle and timid son, Dexter, under the control of that wicked witch. However, at least Dexter wasn't in the wrong. Many a good prince or king had fallen for the tricks of an evil sorceress before him, and perhaps it was avoidable if he were to just be made to see reason.

Daring on the other hand was another story. How could he? He had been promised to Apple since her birth, and he did not intend to let his promise to Snow White be broken over some feral, wood dwelling commoner.

He was so mad about that, he had half a mind to consider bribing the next huntsman to not bother and let the little red hooded harlot learn her lesson the traditional way...but he would only be causing more problems if he did that. He needed to only worry about his own family and their destinies.

"We will do everything in our power to end this madness, and wipe the page clean. I think we just need to start over."

She looked up to him hopefully and smiled softly. "Oh, your majesty! I knew you would understand me!" She dived into his arms and he held her gently.

"I'm very relieved you came to tell me this." He praised her.

"That school registration apparently thinks as little of tradition as they do a parents right to know these things." He muttered.

As Apple finally lost sight of the grand castle from her carriage window she had a feeling things would start looking up.

XxXxXxX

"So, Dex, what did you get up to with Raven over the past few days? You were almost nonexistent." Daring spoke after a long and silent three hours.

"Did you do anything..wicked?" He suggested, nudging his brother in the side.

Dexter almost retaliated defensively, but then a sudden urge came over him.

"Oh, yeah. We do wicked things all the time." He stated nonchalantly.

Daring spat his water out at him, and he coughed a fierce few seconds as he let his imagination run wild.

"Wh-what? Seriously? You've done...that?" He silently cried, his insides feeling like they just flipped inside out.

His brother? His LITTLE brother? Participating in acts with which only one's definite soul mate must commence?

"Yep." Dexter continued the bluff, containing the bubbling laughter within him like an over boiling cauldron.

"And we try all different ways too...and in different places... The study room, the attics, the school library.."

Daring shrieked, eating up the fib like a gingerbread house. He slapped his own face with both hands to his cheeks and then silently screamed at him "You're a menace! It's no wonder you aced the Evilnomics midterms, you despicable fiend!"

Dexter chuckled and then replied, with a smile to rival any Cheshire cats, "that's right, Daring. All this whole term, raven and I have been having lots..."

Daring gasped, covering his mouth,

"And lots..." Dexter continued, draaaaaagging it out...

Daring winced, unable to comprehend this madness... His heartbeat was in overdrive and he felt like the heat of the sun had chosen him as a human vessel, fuelled by thoughts of things he wasn't ready to do, and yet his brother had already done...

"Of...study dates." Dexter blurted finally.

"WHAT?!" Daring fell back, his crown toppling off his head as they crossed over a rather convenient bump in the road.

Dexter snickered, "You idiot! We've been non stop studying and hanging out all term! We didn't have time to be anywhere else, which is why I aced the midterms, and why you never saw us!"

He chuckled and folded his arms, feeling rather surprisingly proud of his newfound powers of manipulation and truth twisting, compiled into the form of a harmless, but epically hilarious prank. He would be doing this kind of thing more often.

"I should kill you." Daring hissed finally, after getting it about a minute later.

All joking aside though, those final moments of sibling banter were all an illusion. They were only a minor distraction from the fear that was inside them both as they passed a familiar apple-decorated carriage on the trail back to their castle.

Daring stared at the barely visible eyes of his formerly betrothed, and his insides died again.

"Do you think she might've..." He whispered.

Dexter sighed and placed an arm around his shoulder, "Look, let's just face this thing together. If mom and dad are really upset about it, then we can at least say we still have each other."

~to be continued


	13. Chapter 13

Dexter was first to enter the throne room of his parents castle, his brother too afraid to make the first appearance.

Dexter was shaking a little, the darker side of his mind whirring out of control about Evilnomics, and Raven, and all that wonderlandiful stuff. He was busting to share with them how amazing his life had become but he knew it could never be.

His parents were sitting on their thrones, not having quite noticed him there yet. His father was reading a long scroll of parchment and his mother was tying off the loose ends of a small tapestry. They were such a perfect couple, and such great rulers. It was a lot to live up to.

He took a deep breath and then nodding to the servant beside him and his sister, they, with daring reluctantly in tow, advanced forward.

The servant spoke up, "Your royal majesties, your sons and daughter have returned!" He bowed and stepped back as the king and queen looked up, smiling at their children.

The king stood up and immediately was met with his daughters embrace, Darling having missed him the most.

"I have so much to tell you about this year!" She said, and then rushed to her mother, "But most of it I need to tell YOU about!" She continued, winking, and the queen responded with a chuckle and a wink back.

"Haha, is that so? Well, go on then ladies! Don't let us keep you waiting!" The king teased, as the women left the room, Darling excitedly reeling off about her encounters with princes and rivals and classes.

The room became stiffer after that with the presence of their cheerful sister gone. The king stood up straight and then folded his hands behind him, as he turned to face his sons, a more serious tone in his voice.

"And from what I hear, the two of you have a LOT to tell ME." He drawled out slowly.

Dexter felt his soul cripple as his father made eye contact with jot just Daring, but him too. Curses, Apple! She had told him what she knew...he was a fool to think it could truly remain a secret.

Daring was on the verge of passing out. His breath was already shallow and he had never sweated this much before in his life. No summer heat could compare. He actually had to take off his crown and wipe his forehead because it kept slipping.

He was chosen to speak with his father first, who motioned to him to follow. "We need to talk in private." He uttered with a hint of disgust in his voice. The thought of what his oldest child had done to disgrace their family name was so much that he was having difficulty maintaining a calm and rational facade.

Daring looked at his brother, who wished him luck mentally, and then shakily followed his father into the next room, far to the other side of where Dexter stood. It was clear that something terrible was about to happen, but knowing his parents, it would just be an elaborate verbal lashing and then some type of humiliating form of manual labor to follow.

He decided it was best to not eavesdrop. He was afraid to get a taste of what was in for him next.

XxXxXxX

Cerise took a deep and blissful breath as she entered her home for the first time in so long. Her dad was home, with his brother, the big bad wolf of the three little pigs story, and her cousins as well as a few more relatives that she could sense upstairs. Her mother was the first to see her, a large oven tray of sweets and meat pies all together in her hands.

She almost dropped the platter, and then excitedly grinned as her nieces and nephews padded excitedly from the other room to greet her.

"Cerise! You're home very early!" Red said, setting down the platter and taking off her ovenmits. "Not as early as Clawrence's kids. They've already eaten, and are upstairs." She motioned to the upper recreational room.

"But still, you can't have run all this way in such a short time, could you have?" She placed her hands on her hips.

Her dad walked him, his thundering laugh filling the air with a sinister and yet warm mood, "It's those impressive legs, sweetpie! She's been practicing all year, the pack tells me." He boasted, gripping her up in one swift motion, crushing her affectionately.

"Ah! Dad, I can't breathe!" Cerise muttered, but returned the embrace. "I missed you so much this term. Things have been really crazy back at school lately." She added.

He stood up and set her down, a stern look in his eye, as he began to huff an puff, "Those spoiled rich kids been bothering you?" He asked, "Oh, those little royal pests.. If I wasn't sick still, I'd-"

He took a look at the youngest of the pups in the room and then after a look from his wife he decided not to elaborate any further. His brother chortled as his expense, earning a growl.

Cerise shrugged and then whispered to him, "I'll talk to you about it later."

Red began to set the table and asked Cerise to help. The whole pack/family sat down and as they ate, the pups began to pester Cerise like fleas.

"Cerise, where did you get those fancy shoes from? They look like they're bad for running in!" One commented peeking at her custom made high heeled sneakers. Daring had actually paid for them, and specially designed for her. She had been very touched and amazed by the action, but remember to assure him that she wasn't in it for the money.

"A friend got them for me." She replied. Half truths were a good way to evade their lie detector noses.

"How fast can you run now? Do you wanna race me after dinner? Do you?" One blurted out, who then got into an argument with her brother about which one of them was faster.

Cerise rolled her eyes and then continued to eat, when suddenly one of her cousins asked, "Cerise, did you meet any cute boys when you were at school?"

The rest of her cousins stopped bickering and then looked at her intensely.

He felt as red as her cloak, and looked around suddenly. The eyes of the grown ups were also on her as she hesitated to reply.

Her dad folded his arms and began to huff and puff again, "Oh, in a school full of princes there are plenty of 'cute' ones, but Cerise is looking for someone with more of a backbone than those flower picking goody two-shoes noodles. Aren't you sweetie?" He asked her.

There was more silence and she still failed to respond. She hummed and the began to prod her meat pie into pieces as she contemplated breaking the news. Rebellion wasn't a big deal in her family, obviously, but still. How the heck was she supposed to tell them that she had more or less stolen the biggest, sissiest, pretty boy in all of ever after? It was too much.

Red placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, everybody let's just leave her alone on that one. We will just have to leave that for another time...?" She looked to her husband and then to Cerise.

Cerise nodded and then the family continued to eat, but she was full.

After dinner she tried to get away, hoping that they would all just miraculously forget when suddenly her cousin Clawdeen appeared behind her.

"You got some boy issues?" She asked quietly, "you can talk to me about it before your dad decides to blow somebody's house down, if you like..." She offered.

Cerise hummed and then grabbed her by the hand, and motioned to go upstairs. Clawdeen silently followed her up, and they reached their shared room. After closing the door and then letting out a huge breath of relief she began to speak again.

"Wow! Leave to Howleen to bring up boys and dating! Argh, trust me, that is the absolute last thing I wanted to talk about." She whispered.

She flopped down across her bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Something bad happen?" Clawdeen asked sitting down next to her, "I don't know much about you fairy tale characters, but I gotta say, if your HUMAN cousin, Sparrow, is any example.."

They both stuck their tongues out and made vomit noises, having equally high dislikes for their shared cousin of criminal(ly annoying) fame.

They both laughed and then cerise sat up, "No, don't worry, he's a really nice guy. He's...well, he's almost perfect...except for the fact that he's in love with himself almost half as much as he loves me, but that's typical a for a prince." She said before thinking. She covered her mouth and stared wide eyed at her cousin, whose jaw hung open.

"Wait, hold up a minute, did you just say 'prince'?" She asked, grinning widely, a hand on her hip.

Cerise nodded, and Clawdeen laughed, "Seriously, girl, the one thing your dad hates more than anything, and you're dating one?"

Cerise looked down and folded her hands, "Well, it's not like I can just control who I love! It doesn't work that way...and he's been put through hex just to be with me. I know dad will take one look at him and just be disappointed."

She flipped her hood over her head and curled up, "but I don't care if he's some..rich, spoiled pretty boy. He's proven himself in my books."

Clawdeen hummed, unsure, "Cerise, you know, you don't have to stay with a guy if its going to mess with your family."

Cerise groaned a little, "yeah, yeah, I know, but do you honestly think that my PARENTS thought that way when they had me?" She jabbed her thumb to her chest.

"Yeah, you've for a point there." She admitted.

"They're being total hypocrites. They're just scared that if anyone gets close to me that their secret will spill out all over the upper class and then our lives will be ruined." She growled.

"Oh, I think it's more than that, Cerise. They just are worried about your future. All good parents are pains in the tail when it comes to this...which is why I like to stay solo, personally.

"Daring is more than just some Prince Charming. He's like...made for me." She grasped at the air, trying to find another way to explain it and not sound so silly, but none would come.

Clawdeen smiled softly and the shrugged, wondering why people get so caught up in issues like this. "Well, on the other hand I suppose, people like you and, my brother, for example shouldn't be so worried about what others think. If he's good to you then you should enjoy it while it lasts."

"Wait, who's Clawd dating?" Cerise asked suddenly.

Clawdeen smirked, "oh, no one really... Just, A VAMPIRE, you know, the usual" she replied.

Cerise gaped.

"Yep, her name is Draculaura. You know, the daughter of Dracula? They've been going steady for years now."

Cerise grinned, "Wow, if something like a werewolf/vampire relationship can happen then why the heck am I worrying about dating a prince?" She cried silently.

Clawdeen laughed and then asked, "Speaking of princes and all that, I bet he's got some scary cool fashion connections! Tell me for REAL now, where did you get those SHOES?" She said, gushing over the unique design.

Feeling a whole lot more relieved, the two wolves spent the rest of the night talking fashion and school, and by the time she had to tell her parents the news, she was ready for anything that came afterwards.

XxXxXxX


	14. Chapter 14

Daring winced and held as stiffly as possible to avoid showing any other physical signs of weakness as his father began to verbally abuse him. The name calling was a little uncalled for, Daring believed, but he was in no position tone requesting decency and respect from his highly enraged father.

The king stormed forward and grasped him by the collar suddenly and then commanded, "You will put an end to this foolishness, and restore our family reputation, or you'll be sorry! Do you understand me?" He dropped him back down and then stood back, crossing his arms, unimpressed.

Daring scoffed suddenly, "What do you mean 'I'll be sorry'? What are you going to do?" He demanded to know, images of Cerise flying past his mind in a panic that he disguised with fury.

The king bellowed out, "THAT IS FOR ME TO KNOW AND YOU TO FIND OUT, YOUNG MAN!" He advanced towards him and finally, Daring gave in to his urge to cower as he stood over him.

They had been in the middle of a heated argument for at least a good hour now, and the king had abandoned diplomacy about 45 minutes ago.

He grabbed the young prince by the collar and then suddenly a little broach caught his eye. He stared at the little silver ornament and then grinned, plucking it from his sons clothing.

"No! Stop! Give that back!" Daring cried, trying to snatch it from him, but his father clasped it in his hand and held it away from him.

"Oh, well well, Miss Riding Hood used to wear a broach just like this one. I wonder..." He pondered sarcastically, "how did my son end up with such a personal treasure of hers?" He tapped his foot, stroking his beard in mock thought.

Daring latched onto him and tried to reach up as high as he could to pry it from him,but was forcefully tossed aside, landing on his back.

The king kicked his side and then hollered, "Oh, don't be so rough, son, you might break it!" He said, as he held it between his fingers.

SNAP.

The little metal pieces fell to the floor and were kicked aside. Darings heart was, more or less, currently in the same exact condition as he screamed and scattered to gather up the pieces of it, tears streaming down his face. He had known much humiliation throughout the past long days at school, but this was just too much.

"Cerise..." He breathed, holding the broken pieces of her family broach to his heart.

"Forget about her." His father spat. "I'm going to advance the date of your marriage to Apple White to be held next year upon your graduation. I trust she has a villain by now that can be relied on, so let's just get this nonsense over with."

With that he stormed off to the other side of the room, ready to summon Dexter to get his own emotional bashing.

Daring glared at him through hurt and broken eyes as his father made his way, off to abuse his poor brother, in most likely the same or an even crueller way.

He didn't know what exactly had overcome him be it some animalistic urge, or too much exposure to Huntress-Cerise-Mode, but for whatever reason, something snapped in him.

Scrambling up to his feet, he dropped the broach and then ran, he ran like a wild animal, and he latched into his father from behind, pulling his down and fighting him, unable to contain his hurt and rage.

With just a call to the guards however, the raging prince was tackled and subdued.

"Take him to the DUNGEONS! I've had it with you!" He growled.

The guards dragged him off as the king began to converse quietly with one specific servant, whilst making the occasional glance towards him. He didn't care if they locked him up now. He was just so fed up with this life...he'd find a way out though. Maybe he just needed alone time to clear his head.

XxXxXxX

Cerise sighed, her plans to break it to her parents having gone two separate wash. Her dad was mad, big shock, and her mother was utterly pleased.

Her mother began to chirp away excitedly about how her precious daughter was going to be a 'princess' and how romantic it must be, whereas her dad was muttering profanities and other prejudice nonsense under his breath.

"Are you sure you really want to pledge your loyalty to him? He's a guy who could have any girl he wanted! What if he grows tired of you?" He interjected.

Red smacked his shoulder and chided him, "Hush up you big bad bummer! Prince Charmings are known to be pious and honest! I have a very good feeling about this!"

He growled in disagreement.

Clawdeen nudged Cerise after she left the room to clear her head, "So did it go well?" She asked.

They both turned to look at her parents and then she smiled, "I think...actually...maybe this was going to be easier than I thought. I can't wait to tell daring about this! He will be so relieved!"

Clawdeen chuckled and then asked, "what, that your parents are okay with it, or that you mom just forced your dad to promise not to eat him?"

They both laughed knowing this was going to be a good break, and Cerise couldn't wait to see him again.

XxXxXxX

In the cold and dark dungeon, Daring lay across the floor, staring at the starry sky from the barred window above. He was almost ready to fall asleep, when FINALLY someone came with food to the cell.

It was his mother, who looked like she had a heavy heart.

She didn't speak until finally daring made his way to the food. She began to weep a little and then knelt to the floor. Daring put down the food and then reached through the bars to comfort her, but she flinched instead sending shots of pain into his heart.

She regained composure and then held him.

"My Daring. I love you, please, never forget that." She cried into his ear.

"I love you too mom. I'm so sorry. I just can't deny what my heart wants." He replied.

She slowly tore herself away and then stood. "We're doing this for your own good." She said before leaving, still upset. Still crying.

He didn't know what to do, but he was very hungry. He sighed at the Castleteria quality of the food, and then rolling his eyes, he began to eat furiously, feeling as though he'd been starved for a week.

He practically licked the platter clean, when a horrible gut wrenching pain invaded his stomach and he dropped to the ground, nearly unable to breathe. The room began to spin and he felt horribly hot all over, as he convulsed on the floor of his cell.

He thought he had been poisoned, or maybe it was a spell, but whatever it was, HE WAS DYING he was sure of it!

"No! You bastard...using my mother to..." He sobbed, realising what had just happened. His father knew he would never change, and so he decided to get rid of him. But it was the fact that his mother was in on it that hurt the most. Once she too was just a peasant girl, who fell in love with a prince. How could she judge him?

"Mom...momma, why? Why?" He sobbed, completely beside himself. His voice grew deeper and raspy in a way he didn't recognise and his vision dulled suddenly. He crawled to the corner of the cell. Some footsteps rushed down the halls, and the last thing he remember was hearing someone call out, "In the fifth cell! The queen says there's a horrific monster in there! Get it out of here! Kings orders!"

~to be continued

Soooooo... Yep. I pulled a 'We, the Spiritless' on you guys! For those of you who read my Frozen stuff you'll know what I mean by that ;)


	15. Chapter 15

Dexter shifted uncomfortably as he stood in waiting. He could vaguely make out a lot of shouting from the other room, and suddenly he was very afraid of what might be in store for him. It was getting late, and darker and they were still going.

He decided to sit down on the ground for a while, and he leaned forward slightly, staring at the little patterns in the tiled floor. Anything to keep his mind off what was happening to his brother would suffice.

Finally, the king re entered the room, but he looked dishevelled and had a forming bruise on the side of his face, and his hair was flying out at odd angles. He stormed over to dexter who scrambled to get up to his feet, but to his relief, his father merely said,

"Dexter, I won't be needing to speak with you yet. Your brother just attacked me like a vicious animal! I'm going to your mother to discuss what we will do about it." He explained.

"Now, go! Get out of my sight. You're just as much a disgrace as he is to me." He jabbed.

Dexter didn't waste any time. As his father turned away, dexter rushed to the room from which he had come. A guard stood in his way and explained that it was completely confidential what was going on with Daring.

He growled impatiently but knew he didn't stand a chance against the guards and so he made his way to his room, praying that Daring would somehow end up okay.

XxXxXxX

Raven didn't like having to stay behind every year...or rather every moment of her life.

Her mother was more or less non existent since her sudden imprisonment and her father was...you know...dead...

She wondered what it was like to have a family like that. It had been since she and Rotbart were maybe no older than ten when she had last seen her own mother. She lay in her empty dorm room in a more or less empty school, the only other students around being those of a similar backgrounds.

She stared down at the floor and realised that missing someone isn't such a great thing after all.

A knock on her door brought her out of it for a moment. She raised a brow and wondered who could be bothering her at this time of night.

A hoot of impatience sounded from the other side of the door and then Raven remembered,

"Come in, I'm too lazy to get up." She called.

A chuckle answered her, and her brother walked through the door, his owl Odie on his shoulder, happily breaking the 'no boys in girls rooms' rule. It was his sister. They weren't doing anything wicked...probably.

"Don't tell me your really still pining for that nerd prince..." He commented, almost ignoring the six hundred times he'd gone on a lamenting rampage about Duchess Swan.

Raven pointed that out to him with a decidedly irritated glare and he nervously laughed and shrugged, "Okay, okay, I shouldn't be one to talk. But still," he sat down on her bed and then flopped onto his back to match her position, Odie flying up to sit on the top corner of her four poster.

"It isn't Dexter...well, I'm super worried about him too...his parents would try to have me killed if they knew what was going on between us." She replied, "What I was thinking about right now though is...our non existent parents."

Rotbart looked away and folded his arms across his chest. His father was one of those stereotypical high expectations parents who never praised him more than he criticised him. He had only ever known him for a father though and he missed him so much. The day he'd drowned like the story commands, Rotbart had been there, having disobeyed orders to stay in bed. He used to love coming to the lake to watch his father dance, and the lovely princess who at the time, also had a daughter about his age, who had long since declared her hatred for him

They had initially seen eachother secretly as friends, but that was something Duchess didn't remember apparently. However, one day watched her mother die, earlier on, and then realising finally what her story held for her in the end, she ran screaming from him, knowing that one day he would kill her, like his father just did to hers.

That was the day he fell in love with Duchess, naturally.

And her father went down with his, drowning in the lake, bloodied and destroyed. A faint echo of a song, playing like a whispering ghost on the wind reached his ears; Swan Lake.

"Yeah, I'll never forget losing my father. I never got anything out of him but disappointment though, at least you have pleasant memories." He said. He turned to her and smiled, "Mother was the better of the two..if anyone evil can be called better anyway."

He grasped her hand and closed his eyes remembering those early days, "I guess I miss her too." He admitted, silently.

Raven tackled him and they laughed as they began to wrestle, like old times, "You big lug! You like to act all dark and evil!" She teased him

"Shut up! I AM EVIL! I'll get you for that!" He retorted, poofing her into a literal raven. Raven dove down and they became engaged in an all out magic war, almost completely forgetting the roughness of their past, or the loneliness of the summer.

XxXxXxX

Dexter paced around in his room, concerned about his brother. He hadn't been seen for hours now and no one would tell him what was up. He groaned in exasperation and kicked aside a basket in his room, furiously.

Finally someone came up to his room and knocked at the door. "Your majesty, you must come quickly! Your brother has been murdered by a horrific beast in his dungeon cell!" The maid cried, unable to contain her horror.

Dexter screamed and rushed with her down to meet with his parents. What? This couldn't be possibly happening! What was a beast doing in the dungeons?

His eyes widened as he imagined it, unable to stop thinking about how it might've looked like, or what remained of his brother in the cell...

"Wait? Why was daring in a dungeon cell? Why was a beast even down..." He halted in his running and then nearly slipped clinging to the banister...

"They..they did this on purpose?" He pondered for a moment.

A hand fell on his shoulder and he whipped his head up to see his father who had been making his way to Dexters room to break the news himself. "No, Dexter, we didn't. I'm ashamed that you would assume such a thing." He spoke, his voice wavering and his face in complete and utter shock.

Dexter looked into his eyes very carefully, searching for signs of deception. Those months of studying evil had caused him to become much more adept in the act of picking out an honest accident from a plotted one.

His father didn't give him enough time to examine his face before he began to walk, beckoning him to follow, "Please, come. Your mother and I need to speak with you about what will happen from now on. Your brother was very important to us, but as figures of authority we must make haste and discuss what will become of the beast. We can mourn later."

Dexter narrowed his eyes at the suddenly calm and indifferent tone in his father's voice, and he followed quickly, not speaking of his suspicion. Not speaking at all.

They rounded the corner and passed through the throne room, and into a flight of stairs far down to the dungeons.

The beast was real alright, a horrific combination of several creatures, with horns and tusks and fangs and claws, it roared in pain and terror as some guards whipped and tied it down, the queen was not anywhere to be seen.

"Your mother couldn't bear to see it." The king answered his sons unasked question.

Dexter stared in petrifying horror, as the beast finally settled down, and he got a good look at it.

He gasped silently and covered his mouth as the beast lifted its head to look at him. It's mouth was chained shut, but his eyes bored into his, pleading, and wet with tears. Dexter knew this form of beast...it was THE BEAST... As in, the beast that he, Dexter, was supposed to be!

To be continued


	16. Chapter 16

"That isn't a beast, that's my brother!" Dexter shouted, pushing past some guards to try and reach him, but they pulled him aside, shouting for him to come to his senses.

"This monster killed and ate your brother! The queen saw it break into the cell and do it herself! Are you calling your mother a liar?" One shouted at him.

The king halted them and attempted to calm Dexter down, "Please, please son you're just in shock. Calm down!"

Dexter tried to push him away and ran to the bars of the cell, crying. The king grasped him though and towed him back.

"Please.." Dexter pleaded, still pushing away from his father, "don't hurt him!"

The guards looked to the king unsure of what to do,

"This creature deserves to die!" One said, "How can we let it live?"

The others began to reply all at once in agreement but witnessing the distressed and horribly distraught prince, they all felt for him. He must have been traumatised to hear what happened and now was delusional as a result.

It was all according to plan though, the king thought. With Dexter like this, he would beg that the life of the beast be spared and the king could dump his ex-son into some random forest where he may or may not carry out Dexter's story.

And then with that said and done, all that was left was to replace Daring with Dexter as Apple's hero. She would never need to know, and so long as Dexter valued the life of his brother, she never would.

The king sighed and then spoke, "Fine then. On my sons request we will let it live."

The room was filled with gasps and cries of shock, but the king silenced them, Dexter glaring at him, suspiciously, but otherwise concealing his thoughts.

"But," he added carefully, "I believe it would be best to banish this monster to the forest, far away, where he can not kill anyone else. Even though we are all hurt, and upset by this loss, we must be stronger than that." He declared, putting on an air of tough mercy.

The room applauded him and then they began to haul the monster away. His brother, Dexter thought, he would probably never see again.

With one last glare at his father from behind him, he decided that he couldn't take any chances and now that he knew what he was up against he had to think fast.

Escaping to his room silently, knowing the king would come very quickly afterwards, he consulted a mirror on his wall. He opened up his books, the ones that Raven had lent to him, and flipped through the pages hastily, trying to uncover the chapter on mirrors and transferring secret messages through them.

Five minutes passed and he finally found which volume it was in and began to read. He needed help, and he only knew two people that he trusted enough with his matter.

A long while passed, and no sign of the king attempting to speak with him. It was more unnerving than it was relieving to him, but he didn't waste the chance. Finding the right spell he stood back and began to say the incantation, a message he had written in traditional backwards fashion (to transfer properly in the mirror) he began to breathe quickly, the tension building up to become unbearable.

Then suddenly, from behind, a louder and faster incantation boomed. Dexter halted and faltered in his spell, and didn't even get the chance to comprehend what was happening before he was suddenly trapped in the mirror, looking back out at his less than impressed father and a nearly lifeless body in his arms...

It was HIS body! He was trapped in the mirror! His spirit was trapped in the mirror!

"NO! NO! You can't do this!" He shouted from the mirror, pounding uselessly on the magically thick and I breakable glass.

The king didn't respond but instead he dusted something over his body...he muttered something and magically he was transformed!

"Is it even possible?" Dexter breathed, as his own body began to live and breathe as though he were still in it.

The king looked to him and said, "This all ends today. I will keep my promise to Snow White and her daughter, and your brother can be the beast. You should be thankful, Dexter. I could have done worse. I would have rather you actually marry Apple, but since you won't willing cooperate this has to be."

What hurt Dexter the most though as his father walked away, followed by a semi hollow Dexter-replacement, was that his father really sounded as though he cared.

Dexter slid to the ground and couldn't believe it. His father actually, seriously thought he was doing the right thing. He pounded the glass one last time.

"I have to find Raven and Cerise." He said. That was all he could try to do now.

"Dexter?!" A voice asked him.

He jumped back and scrambled over, looking every which way to locate the location of it, and then he screamed when he saw.

It was some kind of monster! A female one, with twisted, foreboding looking wings crafter from a rib age, and her ghostly white skin was tight against her nearly skeletal body, transcending into a silvery, gothic black at the limbs.

"No, no no no no, stop! It's okay! It's just me, Cupid!" She pleaded with him, kneeling down to his level and attempting to grab his hand.

He jerked it away for a moment before fully comprehending what she'd said...

"Cupid?" He asked looking at her again. He looked all over her but no matter how different it seemed to be, this person really did...LOOK like her.

"Dexter, what just happened?" She asked, ignoring the irritating hesitation. She hated this. She never wanted her ever after friends to see her this way for this reason alone.

"Was that your body that just got taken away? Are you alright?" She continued.

He looked into her eyes and then gulped. This really was Cupid. So THATS why she went to a monster school.

"I...I'm alright, and yes." He sighed and looked away, "but we're all going to be in big trouble if we don't hurry. My father got all mad-crazy obsessed with destiny and he turned Daring into The Beast, and then decided to use my body as a drone to marry Apple. Now daring is lost in a random forest, my body is gone and I'm trapped inside a mirror!"

He reeled off in one big breath.

Cupid gasped and covered her mouth, "oh, no! We need to get you out of here and back into Ever After!" She declared, taking his hand.. But it slipped right through.

Dexter looked down at his own hands and screamed again, his whole body as see through as a...

"I'm a GHOST?!" He cried.

Cupid wrung her hands together in a worry, "oh this isn't good at all! Now that you're a ghost it'll be twice as hard to help you navigate out of here! Can you fly?" She asked

He shakily came to his senses and then tried, but all that ended up happening was he began to float up, and up, and up and he didn't seem to be able to stop..

"HEEEEELP!" He whimpered as he began to bumped against a seemingly ghost proof ceiling and went veering off into another direction.

"You stay right there, okay? I have some ghost friends who'll be able to help you out, but for now just don't bump into any mirror portals!"

She ran off as fast as she could.

"Yeah. Don't bump into any portals. Got it." He replied almost sarcastically, trying to manoeuvre himself.

"Please hurry..." He muttered.

~to be continued.

authors note: unfortunately no, I won't be doing any references to the new Haunted movie since it isn't even out yet, this is just a coincidence. I'm thinking Sirena or Spectra. Who do you think I should bring in? I think. Sirena. She's like the Maddie of their world.


	17. Chapter 17

Apple sobbed into her hands, her mother and King Charming by her side, along with "Dexter" who held her, comforting her.

Daring was gone, and Apple felt so horrible about the way she had treated him the last time they saw each other. She crumpled against Dexter and her delicate heart felt as though it could take no more. It crumbled and ached and fell away into tiny specks of fairy dust as her fairy tale came to a crashing, flaming, devastating end.

She drew back a deep breath, hiccuping as she recalled the way he'd stood up for her, and how he'd said he still cared for her. She had been so selfish to just shut him down and run off the way she had.

There was still hope, but now it was gone...gone like everything else.

The prince upon whom she cried, rested his head against hers and embraced her firmly, rubbing her back soothingly as she continued to sob. She quivered and shook in his arms like a rabbit, as she nuzzled her face into his jacket.

"I know...I know..." He whispered when she uttered something unintelligible to him between sobs.

She turned her head to look up at him, and she lifted a hand to brush away his own tears, matching hers if not for the lack of a black tint as her makeup ran, surely u attractively down her cheeks.

She gasped and tore herself away, having ruined his clothing, trying to wipe it off, but he took her hands and kissed them, softly,

"It's alright, I don't care." He said, and what remained of her heart stopped, and lurched forward as he took off his glasses, which were tear stained and hard to see through now.

He looked deeply into her eyes, and he leaned forward, "I'm still here. And I promise, no matter what silly mistakes I've made, that hurt you, I'll never leave you to suffer." He whispered, planting a burning kiss on her forehead.

Snow White lifted a hand to her lips, and he glanced at the king beside her, and they both shared a knowing look as their children began to bond in their grief. He nodded to her, and she sobbed a little, but held it together as a good queen should. They both got up to discuss this somewhere else to allow their precious prince and princess to be alone together.

The king stole a glance at his "son" with mixed feelings, but then put his qualms to rest. This was the right thing to do, he had convinced himself.

Apple gazed up at Dexter, suddenly discovering those fabled eyes of his for the first time, as he whispered words of kindness and comfort to her, stroking her hair, and holding her hand.

She burned with something in her chest that she had never experienced so heavily before, like a last opportunity...a second chance... Something that would slip away from her and be lost forever if she didn't grab it and never let it go, like his hand, that she tightened around, or his chin as she pulled it down, or his lips as she pressed hers against his in a sudden act of despair and desperation.

Loves first kiss? Maybe not. Daring was her first love, so what did it matter now? He was gone, but here before her was someone who cared for her too, and who was suffering the same loss and pain.

Judging from the way he kissed her back, taking her bottom lip and prying her mouth open to extend their sudden passionate sin to another level, he needed this as much as she did.

He ran his fingers through her satin, flawless golden hair and pulled her face as close to his as possible, and she wrapped her arms around him, humming in shameful pleasure as he ravished her.

She drew back for a breath, finally, and he pulled her onto his lap, breathing heavily, and planting a soft kiss on her again, and again... and then horrific realisation struck her as she held a hand to his lips...

"...Raven...?!" She squeaked as she felt her newly patched up heart explode into smithereens again.

But "Dexter" only looked at her for a moment or two with a serious and remorseful look in his eye and he said, "That was a mistake. She doesn't need me the way you do. It was temptation, but in you I see what I really wanted."

For the third time, her heart reconstructed itself, and for a moment she began to cry again. She leaned against his body, and her embraced her once more, as she let it all out. Soon his father would be done with making rearrangements regarding their fate together, and they'd have to separate in order to appear orderly and responsible, but the only thing he knew was his duty was to make Apple happy for the rest of his life and that was all he intended to do.

It was all he knew.

XxXxXxX

Snow White stared out the window, overlooking the woods in which she once stayed as a young princess, waiting in the cottage of the dwarves for her future husband to whisk her away to her happily ever after.

Things had never been so complicated for fairy tales until this ridiculous rebellion had begun. In her day, it was all laid out for you, and you never had to worry about a thing. Your life was planned and good things came to those who deserved them, didn't they?

Snow White, like many fairy tales who have story legacies going back centuries and centuries ago, had no idea of any sort of life outside what destiny tells them to do, and to hear of what horrific consequences their children were facing made her ache in her heart.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked, "Dexter has his own life ahead of him, as the beast..." She said, having known her good friends' intentions for their younger son since his birth.

The king sighed heavily, and replied with a heavy heart, "A prince of the Charming name isn't always destined to something at birth. Sometimes they go for years without a set path until one day they come to rescue a maiden in need, and suddenly it all falls into place."

He strolled over to her silently, and placed a great hand on her shoulder, the younger monarch looking up to him, "Apple is the maiden that Dexter has found, and I believe his potential involvement with your daughter could save him from a nasty, ill fate as the husband of that wretched Raven Queen. I want this for Apple, and for my Dexter." He explained.

Slowly nodding, she began to see his point, but she couldn't help but be overwhelmed at the sadness that hung in her heart. Daring was all her daughter ever asked for, after all, but the fairy tale must go on.

"I will consider it, but I will only consent to this arrangement if my daughter deems it acceptable." She said. So much for destiny.

King Charming grinned from behind her, as she looked away, and he replied, "Then let us hope for the best."

XxXxXxX

Authors Note: don't you just love how Dexter's body is cheating on Raven without his consent? Ahhh... And Apple just did a oopsie-no-no kiss with him too! Ooooohhh... Dramaaaa

Apologies guys for how long it has been taking me to finish my latest chapters. I had a WHOLE entire funny chapter half written about Sirena trying to teach Dexter how to fly but then my freaking iPad died and it was all lost...QAQ

forgive me! I mightn't be able to do that chapter in so much detail now... GRRR...


	18. Chapter 18

In the Monster world there are a few things that are inconvenient about being a ghost...and then there are the few things that are REALLY INCONVENIENT about being a ghost.

One specific example of such inconveniences is that you tend to phase through everything, except for mirror portals which are for some reason ghost proof. Apparently Ever After doesn't like spirits visiting their 'peaceful folk' and so they cursed all portals in order to prevent the ghouls and ghosts from 'disturbing' them.

Or at least that's what Dexter...THOUGHT Sirena had meant.

And then there's the fact that being a ghost essentially means that every hour your body and soul are separate, the less likely you will survive merging back together in. In other words, if Dexter didn't get back to his body within three days, he would be essentially: DEAD.

PERMANENTLY.

His body, possessed with a spirit under his father's command, just a drone that existed to please others forever, while he flopped, and floated, and phased around in another dimension for all of eternity.

"Ugh... Someone just bring out the shackles and chains...I'll never get the hang of this flying thing..." He spat frustratedly as his 'instructor' dazed off mid session for the millionth time.

He stole a glance at Cupid who winced, shrugging, "I figured Sirena was better than Spectra...the only other ghost I know...she's kind of like the Blondie Locks of Monster High, and I thought you'd prefer a little more privacy." She explained

Dexter huffed, feeling weird, as breathing was no longer necessary to him, and so the sensation was almost ...wrong in a sense. He attempted to 'row' himself towards Sirena, hoping to regain her attention.

"Hey...HEY! Wait, aren't you going to finish telling me about this whole flying thing? Is...isn't there something else that I'm missing?" He called out to her.

For a moment she paused, staring at him in a genuinely confused manner, before airily giggling, "Oh! Right...I forgot..." She 'swam' over to him and then clasped her hands, "that's it! There's nothing else to teach! Just practice and you'll be an expert in no time!"

She giggled again and then flew/swam off in another daze, phasing through an empty wall. Dexter floated there, his eye twitching a little...

He had been aimlessly trying to get her attention for two and a half hours now... And really... REALLY?

He shot a glare back to Cupid, "Seriously, I think next time I'll take the Ghost-of-the-gab over her any day!" He grunted, the inner beast seeping through him for a moment, his aura glowing a dark maroon as he simmered.

She flinched and apologise yet again.

After all that insufferable, TIME WASTING... Finally, the two of them began to head for the exit of this portal room.

They had to hurry though, for time passed differently in this world than Ever After. One hour here was equivalent to two in Ever After, so they only had half the time to find a way to get him back to where he belonged.

They closed the door behind them, and suddenly Dexter froze, his aura changing to a bright, golden-orange panic as he laid eyes on what was most likely the most terrifying thing he had ever seen...

Public High School... Oh, and monsters. Lots and lots of monsters.

If it were possible for a ghost to faint, this one just did. Cupid yelped as he fell unconscious and began to drift off aimlessly...

"No! No no no! Help! Help! Somebody! I've got a fainted ghost here!" She cried out. This was going to be a LOT harder than she thought.

XxXxXxX

Cerise hugged her cousins tightly as fiercely as they stood before the portals leading them back to their home on the other side.

"And promise me you'll keep me posted on this little prince of yours, okay? Because if he slips up JUST ONCE... He won't even know what bit him!" Howleen said, before stepping into the swirling vortex.

"Okay! Okay, I will!" Cerise laughed, as she let her go.

Howleen held her breath as the portal sucked her in, and she shook off herself violently as she came to a sudden halt, on the other side. Portal travel seriously messed with your fur and hair.

Clawdeen and Clawd had left for home earlier, and had taken the "long route" which included and even worse method travel...well, a worse portal anyway. Mirror portals were so much more convenient, and safer than crossing the dimensional border any other way, which is why it was so expensive to own one but it was worth it.

She began to pick up her luggage when suddenly, a voice perked up.

"Hey...Howleen... Is your cousin little red riding hood by some chance?" Someone asked from the shadows...

She whipped her head around, and stared in momentary shock at her BFF as she emerged from the walls, bewildered, and almost concerned that she'd know such a thing...

"Hey! How long have you been there? What are you taking about?" She interrogated defensively.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. It was just a question," Twyla eased her with her hands, "it's just... While I was hovering around the shadows, I overheard something I think you should know..." She said, a look of grave seriousness in her eyes...

"It's about your cousin, ...who i know about because I've eaten her nightmares before..." She muttered the last bit really fast.

Recently Twyla had discovered that the rampant increase of conflict on the other side of the mirror was causing some terrorifically delicious and also disturbing nightmares.

Howleen nodded, and hummed, waiting for her to continue,

"It's about your cousin and this..prince guy. I think he's in trouble."

Howleen gasped, and she clenched her bags close to her chest, "Wait, prince? What prince? Are you sure?" She started in, panicking

"His name was something dorky..like David or.." Twyla began, "and I've seen him in her dreams before..."

"Daring?" She asked, the worst case scenarios playing in her mind.

Twyla clicked her fingers, "Yes! That's the guy! Well..." She stepped closer to her, and then said, "I just saw Cupid fly through here with this other Prince, saying that something was going down on the other side, and Daring is involved...something about a corrupt king trying to force destiny onto them. I didn't want to assume, but I was concerned.." She looked to the portals.

"Those people are suffering so much. It just hurts me...sort of...to think their own people could be so oppressive and selfish to each other." She admitted, folding her arms.

Howleen grabbed Twyla by the hand and began to proceed back to the portal from which she came, hoping it was still freshly locked on the cottage's location.

"We have GOT to tell Cerise about this!" She declared as they walked through to the other side.

XxXxXxX

Cupid thanked the lot of kind ghost strangers who has assisted her in her efforts to keep Dexter under control as they escorted him out of the school. It wouldn't be wise to expose him to any further trauma. Right now, all they needed was advice on how to get Dexter back into the other world, so naturally the New Salem Library of the Supernatural was her first logical stop.

Dexter was finally conscious and was trying hard to focus on flying correctly as he floated up to the higher shelves to scour them for any information he could find.

Cupid took the bottom half of the shelves, communicating as silently as possible with him as their search progressed.

This needless to say resulted in a lot of frustrated 'shushing' from the grumpy, three eyed librarian.

Dexter paused and called down to Cupid, "Okay! I've found the section where teleportation and portals starts! Have you found anything on reuniting spirits and bodies?"

She looked up to him from the opposite side of the aisle and called out, "No! But let's gather some teleportation info first!"

"SHHHHHHHHH!" The librarian hissed.

"Sorry!" They whispered in unison.

Dexter tried to grab ahold of the books, but Sirena hadn't been very helpful when trying to explain how to make oneself tangible when and where convenient, so she ended up skipping that whole topic. Dexter cursed under his breath as his fingers continued to slip through the spines of the books.

Cupid, luckily, had already located and positioned the bookshelf ladder and was halfway up to the row in which they were. Dexter motioned to them, "it's these ones here, and then on from there..." He pointed down and to the right.

She nodded and then they proceeded to select titles that sounded the most befitting of their circumstances.

With a large and heavy pile of books toppling around in her grasp, Cupid managed to get down halfway before tossing the books down into a near pile on a suitable table below her.

The echo rang out through the whole building and she and Dexter winced. The two of them seriously didn't belong in libraries.

"Okay, so where should we begin?" Dexter mused aloud.

Cupid began spreading them all out on the table and replied, "There's no time to pick and choose. Since you can't really do much in the state your in, I'll just open all of them. We need to look for key words and we need to be quick about this though so you can use the wind to flip through pages."

After a long while of fruitless skimming, however it was clear that none of the books had seemingly anything to do with what they specifically wanted to know...

When FINALLY...

"I FOUND IT!" Cupid slammed her fist onto the table, causing the other books to flip up for a moment, and Dexter squealed instinctively, as he whooshed to her side.

"Really? Where? Show me!" He cried.

The librarian tossed a chair in their direction suddenly, and they took some time to calm down and lower their volume before continuing on.

Cupid placed her finger to the exact paragraph on which she had discovered the needed information.

"Right here it says that those whose souls are shut behind a mirror portal are actually doomed to stay there forever..UNLESS!" She jabbed her finger to the illustration to the left of the words, "Unless the BODY is pushed through a mirror portal to the same location as the soul!"

She looked up at Dexter and he furrowed his brows, "Shoot! So we were looking at it from the totally wrong angle! This...this changes everything!" He ran his fingers through his hair, or at least through the top of his head, and he sighed, gazing off helplessly.

"How are we supposed to get my possessed body to enter a mirror portal?" He cried silently, tossing up a hand, "he's probably rigged by my father to never look into a mirror again!"

Cupid hummed, worried, and then began to skim through the rest of the page... "I'm sure we can figure out a way, but for now, it doesn't matter. There isn't any point in bringing your body here unless we know exactly what to do when we have it!"

Dexter floated back to her side and they continued to read on.

"Right there..." Dexter stopped her, pointing to a paragraph, "reuniting the soul with the body is a complicated and dangerous task..." He read aloud.

Cupid turned the page over and continued, "The origins of soul-body separation spells lie in the roots of black magic, and can only be reversed with it as a consequence."

"Most pure magic users have difficulty complying with the proper requirements for such a dark art despite the fact that reuniting a Boyd and soul is by most people considered a good or non-evil act."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem," she said, reassuringly, "This world is home to some of the finest black magic users! We can surely get someone to fix that up..that is if we can convince them to do good magic."

Dexter felt a pang in his heart as the image of his beloved Raven came to his mind...

"Wait! That's it!" Dexter said suddenly, floating up a few inches with excitement.

Cupid looked to him, intently focussing as he paced through the air in thought.

"Cupid, keep reading and see if it says anything about contacting people on the other side without having to travel THROUGH the portals!" He said, snapping his fingers.

He floated down to her again, on a side note, pleased with his quickly increasing skill at flying, and he continued,

"Just think about it! We need to get my body through the mirror to here, but my body will need to be forced to come through, which means we need someone ELSE from Ever After to do it for us!"

He pointed to the excerpt and then underlined the part about black magic users, "We need a black magic user to put me back together again, but a black magic user who is keen on doing GOOD actions!"

Cupid gasped as the revelation hit her, "You mean we should try to contact Raven?"

He nodded frantically and then hissed with excitement, "Just think about it! Raven Queen, the daughter of The Evil Queen, would have had PLENTY of experience talking to spirits trapped inside of mirrors! HELLO! That's where we got the stupid Mirror Mirror phrase!" He exclaimed, grasping at his hair.

Cupid shook with anticipation as the idea sank in, and she slammed her attention back into the book, "This is too good! I'll keep looking and see what I can find! If we can contact Raven, and get her to force your body into this world, she can come here herself and put things back together again!"

They huddled down and began to search, desperately, and intensely for any last information.

XxXxXxX


	19. Chapter 19

Twyla shivered, the intensity of the portal still stinging her skin a little, and she squinted against the bright light that was obnoxiously present in the room before her, whereas Howleen seemed totally content with this sunny configuration.

"Cerise is probably downstairs with Auntie Red, come on!" She said, grabbing her by the hand.

Twyla for a minute didn't recognise her though and pulled her hand away, staring in awe at the human looking girl before her.

"Howleen? Is that you?" She asked.

Confused for a moment, Howleen furrowed her brows before suddenly coming to the realisation that obviously Twlya didn't understand the concept of "universal conformity", which was a term which was coined by the government to describe the conversion of ones appearance from one universe to the other in order to conform and adapt to the new environment.

"Yeah, it's me! The portal does it to you, just have a look at yourself!" She said, for the first time taking in the odd sight of her usually glum friend.

Twyla took a peek behind her and screamed at the sight, unprepared to see her skin so much paler, and the shadow markings absent from her legs, replaced with intricate, spooky looking stockings.

Well, heck, her whole OUTFIT was different! She was so busy freaking out about her new appearance, she didn't even notice the equally confused and disturbed wolf girl to the side of her.

"Oh! Cerise! Good, you're still home!" Howleen exclaimed, dragging a reluctant Twyla away from her own bizarre reflection.

"I'm so pastel...and fluffy..." She silently screamed, her skin crawling.

Cerise growled in slight offence at the stranger, "What is the meaning of this? Who is SHE? What are you doing Howleen?!" She reeled off in a huff.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down! This is important...TWYLA! Snap out of it!" Howleen turned to the still stunned boogie monster and tapped her shoulder fiercely.

"Wha-? OH! Yes!" Twyla stood at attention and then finally made eye contact with the other girl, "I'm so sorry about this," she began, "I'm Twyla, a friend of Howleen's."

Cerise hummed, and then glared at Howleen for better answers.

"Cerise, Twyla was fanging around in the mirror portal room back in our world, and she has some bad news!" She said, getting down to business.

"It's about Daring," she said.

Cerise gasped, truly caught off guard, and the raised her hands to her chest in a panic, "Daring? What happened? What do you mean by 'bad news?'" She asked, turning to look desperately at the boogie monster girl.

"Well...I was floating around in the portal room after finishing a nightmare job, and I heard someone carrying on, screaming and everything. I hid and turned to look where the noise was coming from, and I saw this:"

She pulled out her coffin shaped phone, (still-coffin shaped thankfully) and opened up a picture she had taken.

Cerise's eyes widened and she unintentionally yanked to phone from her hands, scrolling left and right, looking at the photos..

"Oh no...oh my goodness! That's Dexter...what's going on? Who's that girl there..." She shuddered and almost dropped the phone as she came to the realisation that the photos of Dexter were of his GHOST... His body...was see through...

"It's his father..I think...I remember him calling him that anyway. I don't know what's going on, but I heard him mention something about your boyfriend, and Holween said we should tell you immediately." Twyla explained.

Cerise began to pace, fur sprouting out by the second with nerves, as she tried to calm down.

"Cerise, what happened last time you saw Daring? Was there any signs of something being wrong?" Holween tried.

She shook her head, but then stopped and stared at the mirror, "He was afraid his parents might find out about us..." She whispered.

Howleen and Twyla looked at one another, "Is that a bad thing?" Twyla asked.

Cerise growled in frustration and whipped around, "OF COURSE IT IS!"

Howleen pushed her back, holding her down, "Hey! Cut it out! How was she supposed to know that?" She insisted.

Huffing angrily, Cerise compiled but continued, "You have NO idea what the royals are like here! They LIVE to force their kids to be perfect...and I..." She trailed off, choking, pulling her cloak over her head, as she slipped to the ground, against the bed...

"I'm NOT perfect. They would never approve..." She said.

"That is NONSENSE!" Howleen scolded her, lifting her up off the ground with a paw, "you stand up straight and tell us what we can do."

Taking a few deep breaths, she turned to Twyla, "what did you hear them saying? Can you remember?" She started.

Twyla lit up and instantly unlocked her phone again. "Yes! Yes actually. I was worried something bad was happening so I recorded the last few things the guy with his that prince's body said..."

She pressed the video and they all watched.

It started with Cupid comforting him, and then she fast forwarded it to the last piece of dialogue she was able to capture:

"I...I'm alright, and yes."the ghost-Dexter said, "but we're all going to be in big trouble if we don't hurry. My father got all mad-crazy obsessed with destiny and he turned Daring into The Beast, and then decided to use my body as a drone to marry Apple. Now daring is lost in a random forest, my body is gone and I'm trapped inside a mirror!"

The video ended with a panicked and fearful Dexter.

"NO!" Cerise shouted, her heart smashing into thousands of pieces... "no...why..." She said in a softer voice.

She turned away and wiped her eyes. She wasn't used to this and she hated it. She liked it better back when she could just be a callous and impersonal lone-wolf with no attachments holding her down.

Most of all, she hated feeling heart broken.

"Where is the rest of it? What did you do after that?" She asked Twyla, "Did you speak to him?" She asked.

"No, I went through the portal that he was sent through to see what was going on. I came back when Howleen was there and told her everything" Twyla admitted, feeling foolish for not speaking directly with Dexter.

Cerise didn't seem to care though as she grasped her frantically, "What did you see on our side? What was there?" She begged.

Twyla loosened herself from her clawed grip and then replied, "I was in their castle, and it took a while to locate him. There were so many windows in that place that I couldn't find much cover to travel through the shadows, but when I DID find them, they were preparing to leave."

She finished adding only one more thing, "they said something about Snow White. That's all I heard before I came right back."

Cerise was now too beside herself to be frantic anymore. It was hopeless. What could she possibly do? The royals had won. And poor Dexter...how was raven going to take this?

"Wait! Of course!" Cerise said, looking at the mirror with a sudden revelation.

"What is it?" Her cousin asked.

"Dexter is Raven's boyfriend...Raven as in THE EVIL QUEEN'S daughter! If we've go to her she might be able to use some magic to help us find Daring, and get Dexter back to our world!"

Twlya stepped forwards and muttered, "Evil queen? Like the one from the fairy tales...oh, wait...duh.."

"And!" Cerise added, turning to them, "She would know a lot more about how these mirrors work! Her whole story and life is FILLED with magic mirrors! If we get to her, she could maybe even use one to show us where they all are so that we can find them faster!"

The two ghouls nodded, agreeing with the plan, "Can we take a mirror to get to her then?" Holween asked.

Twyla, finally understanding the situation, tapped the portal and then said a few words. The wolf girls looked at her suspiciously.

The portal whirred to life and a vision of a feather littered dorm room came to them.

She looked at them, and then shrugged sheepishly, "I eat people's nightmares...and that ditzy roommate of hers is always having dumb ones." She said. She had put two and two together and realised that over her course of action in the fairy tale world, a certain princess with a certain evil roommate were a common place of work for her, and just so happened to be the people they needed to see.

Without waiting another moment, they jumped through the portal and hoped for the best.

XxXxXxX


	20. Chapter 20

Raven snorted and spat out a mouthful of feathers.

"Rotty, just because we're siblings doesn't mean you can just strip down right in front of me...seriously..TMI" she said, shielding her eyes and her brother dressed down for the night.

He often revelled in the sick ironic pleasure of sleeping in Apples bed during the holidays. And now that he was her villain it was even more satisfying. The feather littered room was a beautiful work of art in his decision, and he humphed at her.

"Don't ruin the fun, Raven! I want to get me revenge on Apple for forcing me to listen to her savagely butchering and entire musical soundtrack during our muse-ic class presentation. Seriously...I was 'wishing, to throw HER down the 'wishing well'..." He spat.

He was about to hop into the bed and laugh himself silly at the thought that Apple White was going to be sleeping on the same bed he'd sat his undies-only butt on for a few weeks, while he laced her bed with timed booby traps...

But THEN...

XxXxXxX

The three girls fell, as gracefully as possible out of the mirror portal and then their attention was sadly, and unfortunately brought to the semi naked red headed villain, who was frozen to the spot like a turkey in the rain...

Which is more or less what he transformed into in a panic after everyone in the room took turns screaming, and he gobbled, and clucked, and scurried around the room, dragging his feathered cloak in his sad little beak.

Cerise stared at the foul little bird and decided if her appetite hadn't been thrown off, she would probably have eaten him for that!

"What the heck? Cerise? What are you doing here?" Raven stood up, not in her pyjamas yet.

He took a quick glance at her pathetic brother and then added, "he's my brother... It's hard to explain..."

Coming back to reality as best as she could, Cerise took a deep breath and then spilled all the information she knew.

"Oh...no..." Raven finally said after a few minutes of diligently paying attention as the girls gave her the situation.

"He's trying to take Daring out of the picture, and replacing Dexter with a FAKE to replace HIM replacing DARING?!" She stammered out, her aura glowing a violent shade of purple.

She stood upright and screamed, turning the bed posts to dust behind her.

"This is the LAST STRAW!" She said firmly, calming herself to a glowing simmer.

"Normally I don't care how people choose to live, but this is a case where everyone has NO choice, and I won't stand for it. No one, not even kings and queens, not even PARENTS should be allowed to do this!"

Twyla and Howleen had been very used to displays of angry magic, and were the first to speak up.

"Well, what should we do? Do you have any ideas of how we can get Dexter out of the mirror?" Howleen asked, while Twyla attempted to feed on Ravens negative energy to reduce her stress.

"I have an idea..." A male voice interjected.

They all turned to the direction of the two long mirrors at the end of the room and gasped.

"Dexter!" Raven cried, rushing to him, "Oh my godmother, I promise I'll get you out of there somehow! How long have you been away? Where are you?" She began to interrogate him, with a cross of relief, anger and hysteria dying her tone.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down Raven! Getting me out isn't what's important right now!" He said, feeling bad for cutting her off, but he knew that time was truly of the essence.

Raven took a deep breath and then in an almost exasperated voice asked, "What? What is possibly more important than whether or not you DIE?"

Dexter winced but cleared his throat and continued. "As you all know, I was planned to be the beast once upon a time. Naturally this meant I was gifted upon my birth a magical mirror that can show me anyone or anything in all the world. You need to find that mirror, and use it to find Daring."

Cerise perked her ears and stood closer to the mirror, the ghouls joining to hear the plan.

"When you find Daring's location, take the mirror with you so I can come too. My father is planning to throw an early engagement party for Apple and my double. If we turn up to the party with Daring, then my father will be revealed as a liar, and Daring can state his case."

"Of course! And then we can show the whole Kingdom how they tortured and mutated him for their own selfish desires!" Cerise growled viciously

"I'll say! I dunno what is up with this world, but the people in charge here are freakier than full moon fever!" Holween spat.

"What do we do after that though?" Raven asked, already grabbing magical items and emergency packs from the room to use on their endeavour. "What about you?"

Dexter grinned and replied, "Cupid and I figured that out! Since I can't leave the portal, you'll have to snatch my body from the party after using Daring as a distraction and push IT into the magic mirror with a basic portal spell! Then, raven, you follow him through and we reunite 'me' back together again." He explained feeling proud of his plan.

Raven couldn't help but flush a little in the cheeks, having always underestimated her princely boyfriend. Apparently when things got serious, so did he.

She pushed that to the back of her mind for now and then rallied up the rest, "okay! You heard him, we have no time to lose! We'll need to sneak into Dexters dorm room, and Darings too. I know where they are, so this first phase of the mission shouldn't take long."

"Come with me!" She said, as she marched out the door having handed each girl an emergency pack (courtesy of apples insane need to heal every single injured animal she sees) and a magical protection item (courtesy of protecting herself from back when her brother and Apple had gone through a horrific prank war)

They all nodded and marched out the door single file, ready to save the day.

"Don't forget to summon me!" Dexter called, "I really hope this works..." He sighed.

XxXxXxX


	21. Chapter 21

All he could remember was Dexter staring horrified at him through the bars of his cell. It was ridiculous, and he was itchy, and hungry, and his clothes were gone, and this big stupid forest just got bigger, and darker, and more uncomfortable.

He growled and sneered at his own reflection in the water. This wasn't supposed to happen to him. He wasn't supposed to be the beast.

These cuts, and scrapes along his body, and the gnarly matted fur that covered his cold and shaking body was a wretched sight and he resented ever choosing to defy his parents.

He resented it. He wanted things to just go back to the way it was when he had it all... A secure future, popularity, acceptance from the world in general, his own body and clothes and home...

But then he wouldn't have Cerise. He paused and stared for a long time up at the sky, barely visible between the leaves and branches so high above him.

What did it matter? Either way he chose to live, he would never have her. Here he was, lost in a strange and remote forest, with nothing but the wildlife to feed on, and with a wary nearby village already making up legends about him, and sending search parties to find him.

He'd travelled greatly since then and was certain that NO ONE could reach him now. He'd just be alone. Forever...

He sulked off, using all four ghastly paws of his, the claws one each of his toes sticking in the dirt, and the sore and weathered pads aching after a long day of amateur hunting and running from other predators.

If he had the choice, or the luxury rather, he'd have curled up and cried for a few days. So, very long ago he thought he knew what bravery was. He thought he could understand what it meant to face fear in the eyes, and conquer it. He thought that fighting dragons, and looking good, and having all the women at his feet was such a cause for celebration.

He plopped down, next to a tree root, quite large and raised off the ground. He glared at the spindly, and twisted foliage and shrubbery around him and realised what a fool he was.

He was a coward, disguised behind the bravado of a lion. Now...now he was literally a lion, or at least some unholy crossed-species variant of one, and he'd all but lost track of useless things like time and beauty. All there was now was food, water, and hating himself.

Maybe he deserved this. Maybe he deserved to be thrown away and forced into this life of poverty. All this time he'd dared...DARED to sympathise with those who had less than him. He had the gall to pity them, and wish them the best, completely unaware that their very existence was so bleak and forlorn that such actions do more harm than good.

Thinking his presence alone would somehow magically fix those in need. Thinking he was a hero.

A whiff of something in the bushes caught his nose and he paused his self pity to take it in. It had been a long time since he'd last eaten and he knew this scent very well. It was a deer.

He tried to restrain himself, begging, and pleading with whatever was left of his humanity to remain inside him. He'd seen Cerise take down a deer before and he always thought it was so vulgar and barbaric. He still did. But rodents and birds wouldn't be able to sustain him for long, and he knew sooner or later he would have to suck it up and do it.

Not right now though, he thought. He could wait a while longer. The scent of the deer faded away as the spared animal meandered away lazily, not even detecting him.

His stomach lurched painfully, and he winced, but ignored it for the most part. There was a lot he had learned in this unfathomably long amount of time, but there were some things he still refused to do, and one of those things was killing harmless creatures.

The pains only increased and he finally roared in agony, curling into himself further. The world became fuzzy for a moment and then suddenly it was black.

XxXxX

Raven and Cerise huddled together by the small campfire they'd created, Howleen was on guard duty and Twyla didn't need warmth to sustain herself and so took to searching the forest for Daring while she had the nocturnal advantage.

They had been searching for days, and hadn't been able to locate him, but the mirror was certainly helping at least. Rotbart had offered to help, amazingly, but Raven was not so sure he really wanted to help more than he just wanted to see Daring in a tortured and woeful state. Nonetheless, the blue eyed owl had been a common sight amongst their oddball group.

Actually, upon hearing the situational details, he seemed pretty enraged that Dexter's body was being possessed and used in such a way. Perhaps he was just concerned about Raven's love for him. He's a hopeless romantic, although he'd never admit it, and the thought that he cared so much, even whilst maintaining one of the most evil reps in all of the school was touching to say the least.

Cerise and Raven looked up as said owl, and Twyla emerged from the shadows. She looked at them and they searched her face for a sign of hope, but she simply shook her head. Rotty hooted aloofly and then perched next to raven, choosing to remain in his avian form to save space.

Raven stroked his feathers anxiously, and he pecked and bit at her fingers in embarrassment for a moment but then allowed her to continue.

"I hope we find him soon." Cerise muttered. "I can't stand knowing he's out there all alone. He might act tough but I KNOW he won't survive in the wild like this."

Raven nodded, sadly, "society has raised people like him to live in total luxury their whole lives to the point that when placed on their own they are completely vulnerable. It isn't his fault that the system failed him." She spat out with an extra hint of disdain on her breath. Rotty hooted in agreement and preened himself.

Raven smiled at him and poked his chest, "Why are you agreeing with me? You'd love to see him suffer, and we all know it."

He screeched indignantly and transformed into his natural state with a blinding flash of blue;

"Excuse you, I can UNDERSTAND the system and its faults. Just because I love watching people suffer doesn't mean I don't know what it's like. The system failed YOU when they tried to force you to live in the shadow of our mother. The system failed Duchess by telling her she has to DIE. Even miss prissy white, has been failed. She's utterly useless without a prewritten, sealed and pixie dust encrusted life plan to tell her how to breathe, eat and dispose of her nonexistent bodily excrement." He retorted.

All the girls stared for a moment at him before nervously returning to their previous tasks and activities. Rotbart humphed and then transformed back into an owl, ditching them for a higher up spot in the trees, transforming back only for a moment whilst perched on a branch to announce,

"While you dainty princesses keep napping on the filthy ground, I'll keep searching. I'll find the miserable creature of a prince before any of you can insult me any further."

Twyla sighed and sprawled out across the ground, staring up at the sky through the leaves.

"We can do it. We've got two wolves, two night trackers, and a magic mirror. I'm sure we can do it." She said, attempting to lighten the mood.

The girls all hummed in agreement before trying to get some sleep. Raven taking Howleen's place at the guard.

XxXxX

As morning arose, Daring woke up to the scent of blood and the cold, dead face of a doe at his feet. He groggily roared in confusion and shock, clambering away from it, and then noting the rest of her body, mangled and ripped to shreds.

If beasts could cry, then this one did, and he groaned in emotional turmoil, recoiling at the blood all over his body and paws.

He had tried so hard...SO HARD not to. He shakily stood and fled the scene, ashamed, his full gut nearly ready to empty itself again. He was a monster.

A pair of icy blue eyes spied him from above as the wee lights of dawn began to shimmer over the horizon. Without further ado, the night owl decided to call it a morning and report back to base. Their target was now in sight.

XxXxX


End file.
